Two Sides Of A Silver Coin
by Scott-The Swordsman
Summary: A few years after Vyse the Legend saved Arcadia, a new threat endangers the world. Whoare these people? What do they want? And how does a group of neutral Air Pirates stop them?
1. Chapter 1

"You know what we want. So tell us."

"Never."

"Tell us, or I'll have to do something you might regret."

"I'll die before I tell you anything."

"Alright… I didn't want to, but you're making me."

The grizzly man, with large arms and a dark beard, reached aside. Beside him in the headlight was a tray, a single rusty knife upon it. The man with white hair stayed oddly still. He was strapped down to a metal table with leather bindings, it was so tight, and his hands tingled. The grizzly man took the knife, and held it up for his shaded face to inspect. The small parts that weren't rusted over in dead brown glimmered with shiny bronze. The man with white hair, tied to the table, didn't flinch, and didn't move a muscle. He kept his sullen look, just staring at the man's shaded face. The grizzly man then stepped closer, his chiseled features exposed. The man with the white hair still did not move a muscle. The grizzly man rested a large hand on the white-haired man's forehead, holding his head back, stretching his skin so that his eyes were forced open. The man had a grim look, one with anger and determination. The white haired man still had no emotion. His mind raced a little though as the rusty bronze knife inched tauntingly closer. The white-haired man flinched as the blade, the tainted, rusty blade, inched closer and closer. The room was dark all around except for the over-head lamp that shined into his eyes, burning them, nearly. The grizzly man blocked the light then, and the bronze rust was only millimeters away from his left eye. Then, the white-haired man knew what fear was like.

A cry of pain echoed through the darkness.

* * *

The sky in mid-ocean was clear. The clouds below were floating unnoticeably, being drifted along by the winds that would hit sailor's sails. The sun shined down from the sky, high in the deep blue, casting warmth into the wind, so it wasn't too cold at the altitudes above the islands. The day was calm, as if nothing was to bother it. The early-morning air was clean, and refreshingly cool against the skin, and people were going about their early morning activities. Fishermen were wheeling in their nightly catches, mothers were preparing breakfasts, children were just waking up, and fathers were still fast asleep. Shops were opening within the towns and civilizations, and sailors were just unleashing their sails to the winds. But the early birds got the worms. Air Pirates were already at work. Black Pirates searched the skies for merchant ships to raid, and Blue Rogues searched for Black Pirates to raid. It was the regular day-to-day business. What about the neutral Pirates? Was it possible that Air pirates did not always choose a side? Two teenagers were of this category, and they were awake earlier than all. 

A certain Back Pirate ship was sound asleep, anchored out on a small island in Mid-Ocean. The ship was of average size, being the traditional colours of red, yellow and a bit of green. The black sails were folded, not being effected by the wind in the least. The yellowish-brown boards of the deck and walls creaked with soft sighs in the wind. The red supporting along the hull and cargo bay held sternly to the sighing boards, not letting up on them or giving them relief. The glass window gleamed in the beautiful sunlight, and the entire ship had an air of relaxation and quiet around it. The black flag with a skull underlined by two red roses in an X pattern fluttered valiantly in the wind as a sign of silent victory to the previous raid on a Nasr merchant ship. The obscenely large cannon mounted on the front threatening any who happened to look. The ship was still and sturdy. The only stirring though was unwelcome. Two Pirates, only kids to some men's eyes, shifted uncomfortably within the cargo hold of this Black ship of foul deeds. They had been there for hours, laying in wait within crates, waiting for the perfect chance. Finally, the sleeplessness got to one of them, and they moved their cramped body out of the crate filled with cannon shells.

The lid to his crate fell open, filling the quiet room with the thumping of the lid against the floor. The boy sat up on his knees, letting his upper body fall to hang openly over the side of the crate, the wooden box under his arms, which hung lazily over the edge. He let out a sigh, closing his sleepless eyes, the bagged, ocean blue orbs surrendering to the weary eyelids. A sigh emitted from him, again filling the dusty room, faintly lit by the warm glow of the sun through circular windows. He soon opened his eyes again and looked around the room. Boxes were stacked atop one another, obviously emergency supplies in case of attack. Though, laid out in an unorganized pile on the floor was a pile of glittering treasure and old crates. The boy grinned lightly at the sight, reaching up to send his tan-skinned hand through his ruby-red hair. The sturdy style barely moved or became messy. He then took his arms back, and pushed against the edge of the box, causing it to tip over and send loud crashing through the room as he fell out, small cannon balls, several pounds of metal, falling on top of him. He groaned a bit, pushing them off and standing up slowly, stretching his back out and brushing off his orange button-up shirt with red cuffs around the armholes. He made sure the collar wasn't folded, and tightened the red sash around his waist, a part of the cloth hanging down his right leg, with small golden ornaments with blue orbs hanging off ropes of the fabric. He leaned down, brushing his blue jeans off, and then wiggled his toes against the wooden sandals he wore. After the quick inspection, the other Air Pirate came out of her crate.

"Couldn't you be a bit quieter!" She scorned in a whisper.

This Air Pirate seemed much more energetic than the male. The fact that she was in a crate full of spare pillows probably helped a lot. Her long waist-length blonde hair was a little messy, and the make-up on her lips faded from a deep red to a lighter shade. She yawned and crawled out of the crate, hopping out. Her white-shaded skin seemed delightfully hued in the yellowish sunlight, and the light from the window defined her youthful curves. She was just entering womanhood, and she was very confident about the way she looked. She lightly checked over her outfit, her white top slightly wrinkled from her cramped sleep, the fabric being thick and ending just under her chest, showing off her trim midriff, and the black flame-like tattoos that somewhat framed her bellybutton, them being open at the top and bottom. The sleeves on the top had no parts covering her shoulder, much rather, it wrapped around her underarms, covering it, and continued down her arms. She smoothed out these wrinkles and checked her brown, thigh-length skirt, which was fine, and was slightly clingy to her legs. Lastly, her almost knee-high tan boots were brushed off against one another. She stepped towards the treasure then, her sapphire, gold-framed earrings dangling from her lobes, and the golden bracelets slightly hanging from her wrists. She kneeled down to it, the black yin-yang tattoo on her back visible to the male Pirate as she admired the gold with wide eyes.

"Wow Maxy, would you look at all this." She said in silent awe.

"Yeah." Maxwell, the male Pirate agreed, a slight grin on his teenaged features. "They really hit a good ship huh?"

"Yeah…" The female Pirate agreed. "But they stole it from an unarmed merchant ship. That's what Black Pirates do."

"We should take it for ourselves." She added.

"That's not what we came for, Lia." Maxwell said in a somewhat annoyed tone. "We came for that."

Maxwell pointed out with his right hand at a large object at the very center of the pile. This object was a large stone, with many minerals within it, and it emitted a bright glow. It was the only other thing lighting up the dusty room. It was called a Moonstone, and it could have been used for a variety of things. For years they had been used for fuel for ships, or forged to make weapons, or ever fermented to make loqua. It seemed that every day, someone could find a new and creative way to use these stones to benefit them. Maxwell and Lia wanted to bring it back to their home village, where they would sell it to whomever wanted to buy it. Maybe Bacco, the weapons merchant would buy it. Who knew? The biggest concern was getting the rock that weighed more than a cannon ball, off the ship and back home. The two Air Pirates had all night to plan about it, and come up with ideas in order to successfully escape with it. Each seemed a little unrealistic until Maxwell came up with the idea of quietly lugging it out while everyone was sleeping, hopping into a lifeboat, and heading straight home. But first came first. They had to get the thing out of the room.

They both silently agreed, and moved to the large stone, ignoring the glittering gold before their eyes. They both grabbed it, and by the count of three, lifted it. With both of them carrying it, it made the job much easier, but walking was somewhat difficult. They moved out from the empty space in the middle of the room, large stacks of crates lurking over them, as if watching them in silence. They both grunted and forced their way to the door, which was a little small for them to go through side-by-side. With timid annoyance, they turned so that Maxwell was walking backwards, and Lia walking forwards, and they made their way up the stairs, which proved difficult as well. The only sounds they made were breathing, light grunting, and the light tapping Maxwell's Swashbuckler Sword made against his leg while it was tucked securely within his sash. They moved up the stairs, silence surrounding them like morning glow, and they turned, heading for the door to the deck of the ship. They knew the lifeboats were on either side of the deck. It was only a matter of moments until they would both be outside, and lugging the Moonstone into a lifeboat and sailing away victoriously.

In the meantime, a middle-aged man was laying up in the crow's nest of the old-fashioned Pirate ship. He was stirred awake by the breeze, and he stretched out his arms. There was a lone pillow and a sleeping back in the crow's nest for him to sleep in, and he wiggled out of it and stood up. His bald head was covered by a bandana, and he wore a striped shirt of varying shades of yellow. His black jeans were torn at the bottom, fitting over his boots. He looked over the edge of the crow's nest, well over a few feet taller than the walls around him. His defined features sported a smile, which formed into a grin remembering the celebration the night before. He scanned the horizons, seeing nothing but blue sky for miles, a few small islands scattered here and there. The man sighed in relaxation. It was going to be another quiet morning. Or, at least, that's what he thought until he heard the doors open from the inside of the ship. Expecting to see his fellow pirates, he turned around and looked over the edge of the crow's nest. His eyes went wide in surprise when he was met with the sight of two teenagers making off with their plunder. The young woman looked up and saw him staring at her, and let out a gasp, dropping the large stone right on the young man's toes. The young man cried out in pain, ripping his foot out from beneath the weight and hopping around, biting his tongue.

"Oi! There be lil' bloaters makin' off with our loot!" The man cried as he reached up to a bell that glittered with its brass surface, suspended on the crow's nest. He grabbed a rope and jerked it back and forth in a fury, causing the bell to make a loud clatter. It was loud enough to wake the other Pirates inside their quarters. Lia and Maxwell panicked a bit and picked up the stone, desperately waddling towards the side. The bell continued to clang and cash, and all of the Pirates were up and out on the deck within seconds. However many of them there were didn't matter, because the two Pirates were stopped dead in their tracks by a burley voice that called out to them. Somehow, the voice seemed to exclaim champion from with its vocals.

"Stop!"

The two Pirates did so, stopping and dropping the stone, stepping away from it. A large man came from the Black pirate gang. He wore a highly disapproved look, his chin being very big with a cleft. His large arms crossed over his flared out chest, which were toned with an abundance of muscle. He simply wore a black tank top, stretched tight over his chest, white gloves, black pants, and a sash that tied over his waist. He wore large black leather boots that made deep thumps when the hit the ground. His hair had one large spike in the center of his bangs, sticking up like an antennae. Of course, his form cried out with power and commanding, and it also hinted at his previous profession. He glared meanly at the two teenagers.

"You're stealing from MY ship!" He exclaimed.

"Wow, he's a sharp one." Maxwell taunted, looking to Lia.

"What!" The Captain of the ship shouted, stomping his foot on the deck, making the two younger Pirates flinch. "Do you have any idea WHO I am! I am Vigoro the Strong, and you're on MY ship, the Titan! You're stealing from a formal Admiral's ship!"

"Yeah, we know that." Lia rolled her eyes. "We came for this Moonstone here. Surely you don't need it."

"Yeah, it's probably taking up weight anyways." Maxwell agreed with a grin. "We'll just take it off your hands."

"You'll pay for your arrogance!" Vigoro shouted. "Men! Take the boy and throw him overboard! Then, grab the girl and take her into my quarters. I'm going to have a little… chat, with her."

"Ew! No way pal!" Lia exclaimed, a look of disgust on her face.

The Pirates were in a bundle; they're being maybe five in all. Maxwell and Lia were ready for them though. Maxwell pulled his sword from its spot in his sash, the blade smooth, but sharp, made out of transparent green Moonstone. Lia had a whip dangling from her waist, and she took it from its holder, keeping it coiled, and a purple Moonstone gem in the hilt. The Pirates, armed with cutlasses, smirked, thinking that the fact that it was four on two was an advantage for them. Vigoro's men advanced on them quickly then, all charging with menacing laughs. Lia quickly lashed her whip out then, catching two of the Black Pirates side-by-side. She caught one's right leg, and the other's left, and the whip coiled it leather length around both legs, pulling them together like a ball bearing. Lia yanked back on it, bringing the Pirates' feet from under then and knocking them onto their backs. Then, with a skillful flick of her gloved hand, she recoiled the whip and fled from the other two. Maxwell smirked at these two, fleeing from them as well as he climbed up to the wheel. Vigoro ordered them to get him, but they were unable to as he quickly grabbed one of the ropes the led to the mast and cut it. He then ran forwards and jumped, swinging over their heads with a laugh.

"Get him!" Vigoro cried as he watched his men act like idiots.

The men turned their attentions to the swinging boy then. Maxwell came back at them, sword in hand, and swung right at them. He glided over Vigoro's head, and skillfully kicked the two standing men down, making them land on the other two who were just getting up. Maxwell planted his feet on the ground then and turned to them, letting his rope go. He took hold of another rope and laughed as he watched the four Pirates trip over one another and struggle to get up. Vigoro scolded them, but still insisted on not doing anything. The four of them finally stood up and turned their attentions on Max. Max grinned and threw his sword up. It cut through another rope on the mast, the one that was intended to keep it rolled up. It began to unroll, and just as the men dove at Maxwell to grab him, the rope tugged up, and the counter-weight lifted the boy off the deck and into the air. The men fell on themselves all over again, and Vigoro slapped a hand to his face in disgrace. Maxwell grabbed his sword on the way up, and leapt off to the sail, grabbing onto it and sliding down to the mast.

"Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?" Vigoro scorned as he took out a cutlass of his own.

Though, from behind, Lia's whip wrapped around Vigoro's ankle, and jerked his strong legs out from under him. He fell forwards onto his face, hitting his nose off the deck. He groaned, holding his nose as he looked back at Lia, who winked at him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as she pointed up. Vigoro looked up just in time to see the mast falling towards him. Maxwell had cut it down while he was on it, and he leapt off before the mast hit the ground. He landed on the deck and turned to see "Vigoro the Strong" get hit in the head with the mast, and his men getting caught under the black sail like a big net. Maxwell laughed then as Lia coiled her whip back and put it on her waist, skipping over. She stepped right on Vigoro's head on the way by, going over the sail that had five different from struggling to get out from beneath it. The bumbling Black pirates gave the two Neutral Air Pirates enough time to lug the large Moonstone to the lifeboat and hop inside. The lifeboat jerked down under the weight, but was barely able to hold it. Maxwell started up the motor then and took hold of the throttle, beginning to sail away into the sky, the wing-like motors working to thrust them through the air.

"See you later lunk-head!" Lia laughed as she waved, sailing away quickly.

"Damn!" By the time Vigoro had gotten out of the trap, the two Air Pirates were merely a spec in the horizon.

* * *

The two Air Pirates felt very fulfilled sailing through the air in their little boat. The wind blew through their hair, Lia's long, beautiful blond hair swaying freely in the wind while Maxwell's shorter hair merely fluttered about. They were both laughing about the fight, mocking the block-headed Black pirates who had attempted to stop them. All that was around them were blue skies and fluffy white clouds soon. The lifeboat did not go overly fast, especially with the weight on it, so they had a while to wait and talk with one another. Both of them mainly talked about having a big breakfast when they got back, and selling the Moonstone. Lia was especially interested in that, since she seemed to have a sort of desire to get wealthy. Though, at most times, this dream seemed to be very farfetched and unattainable. Maxwell had different dreams. He wanted to sail around the world, Just like Vyse, the Legend, and he wanted adventure, just like Vyse, the Legend. In fact, it seemed that he wanted to be just likeVyse in many ways. Soon, they were approaching their home. 

A few leagues northeast of Pirate's Isle, there was a mountain called Moonstone Mountain, which had a waterfall running from a lake in the uppermost part of the sky. Vyse the Legend had discovered this lake when he somehow gained a ship that made it that high. This mountain was a clean gray, and even had white snow lining the top above the clouds. Soon after Vyse had defeated the Silver Gigas, Zelos, people began to build and expand outwards. A small settlement in Mid-Ocean had built a city right in the side of the mountain, some building suspended outwards on platforms like the Ixa' Taka villages. The rest of this city was built right into the mountainside, holes having been blown out of it by explosives. It was by no means a large town, but it was home to the two Air Pirates. The sight of it brought a smile to their faces. As small as it was, it was home, and there was no place like it on earth. They quietly sailed right up to the docks where Maxwell tied down the ship and helped Lia moved the Moonstone out of the boat and onto the dock. He then crawled out onto the dock and helped Lia out, and they grinned to one another.

"Home sweet home." Maxwell said as he took in a deep breath of air. "I'm beat."

"Yeah, I'm tired too…" Lia said with a yawn, stretching out her arms and legs. "Fighting first thing in the morning was by far the worst idea we ever had."

"Forget selling that thing, I'm going to bed." Maxwell groaned.

"Are you serious?" Lia asked in surprise.

"Yeah I am. It can wait, it won't be going anywhere." Maxwell said as he turned to head towards his home. "Seeya later."

The mountainside village was fairly feudal, much like the neighboring Pirate Isle. If Maxwell's tan were not natural, he would have had a hard time keeping it. The village within the mountain was shrouded in shade, since at most times of the day the sun was unable to bask it's warm glow upon it. In fact, the sunset was the only light to hit the inside of the blue-hued cave, and bask it in an orange glow. At all other times of the day, torches flickered and sparked along the cave walls to light the village. Torch poles were also set up, like Vuluan street lamps, in order to gain vision. Though it was a hazard, and they were usually kept within glass casings and lanterns in order to keep the wooden houses and shops from catching on fire. The village had once caught aflame during its starting months, though only a few homes were lost. The wood was generally made out of common pine or cedar trees, so it was easy to burn. Only the mayor's home was an exception to this rule, his home made of stone. The walkways were wooden as well, and the platform that extended the village from the mountain was also made of wood. Though, it had metal supports holding it to the mountain and keeping it sturdy. Nobody ever thought of what might happen if those supports ever gave way, and nobody really wanted to.

Nights within the cave could be cold for the villagers, which there was barely over twenty. Days didn't get much better, unless a warm breeze was blown into the cave by a summer's wind. Though with the amount of fire in the village, it was easy to keep warm. Maxwell found the conditions awkwardly favorable. He never knew why, and he rarely questioned it. If he ever bothered, he'd merely give himself a headache. He just liked it, and that was that.

Maxwell's mother was just waking up when he came in the door. The woman with red hair and green eyes was a little surprised to see him. She offered him breakfast, but it was a no deal. He was too tired to eat; he just wanted to go to sleep. When his mother asked him what he had come home with, he remembered he had left Lia to drag the stone into a safe place. He felt a little bad, but his mother told him not to worry about it, and wished him a good sleep. Maxwell yawned as he climbed the stairs and went to his room. He made certain to be quiet, as to not wake his little brother, Taylor, and he moved to his room. Once inside, he kicked his sandals off. He looked around the darkened room, and he lit a lamp next to him, bringing light in. The room was fairly small, the size of a small office. The only things within the room were a bed with light blue covers and a white pillow, a window at the far side for air, since using it for light was senseless, and a dresser across from his bed. He found he didn't need anything other than those things. With a sigh, he undressed himself, placing his sword on the dresser and hopping into his bed. After several minutes, he was fast asleep, dreaming of the sky.

Several minutes after both Maxwell and Lia had fallen asleep; a traveler came to the village. He didn't appear to be any sort of a sailor though. Everyone looked at him as he passed. His pale white features appeared to be very matured, and his snow-white hair draped down to his mid back. His one dark green eye showed fatigue, while his left was covered so securely by his white bangs, that it couldn't be seen. He was very opposing, being above average in height at six feet tall, give or take a few inches. He wore a sort of dark green coat, though the front and sides ended at his waist, while the back of the coat flowed down to his ankles, like a cloak. His long legs were dawned in dark black pants, and the large black leather boots on his feet were decorated with golden plates. His face showed a somber expression, though his fists were balled tightly, hidden behind large wrist blades known as katars, which seemed to have silver, translucent blades. This wrists, hands, and some of his forearm were wrapped tightly in taping, somewhat yellowish due to long hours of wear and tear. He tiredly walked through the village, dragging his feet somewhat. Most people stared at the odd traveler, but when he fell against a wall for support, a kindly woman asked if he needed assistance.

"I request lodging…" The white-haired man said.

"Certainly." The woman said graciously. "Right this way."

The mysterious traveler was taken to the woman's home, and given hospitality. The village seemed humble with hospitality to the man, to the point where he thought them foolish. He had noticed the same pattern everywhere he went. Everyone was so happy and trusting, and he did not understand why. At least, not until he learned about Vyse the Legend. He learned that some years before, a young boy saved the world from Zelos and Ramirez, a former Silvite. Peace then reigned for several weeks, and then the world resumed its normal course. It was a little foolish to the white-haired man, but he had his own problems to worry about. He was to gather his strength quickly, and then leave again. He knew very well that he could not dwell in one place for very long. He used the woman's hospitality to his advantage, eating a full meal for once. He couldn't remember the last time he had done that. He soon went to sleep then, and stayed that way for quite some time.

Meanwhile on a mid-sized ship made entirely of metal, a man looked on towards the mountain. He could see it from the bridge of his ship, and he stroked his goatee beard in thought. His hair was black as night, and he wore a large black robe to bovver his body. He looked something like an eerie priest, with his hair shaved very short. The ship was buzzing with activity, men running about, preparing themselves. They put on armor, took up arms, and were soon at the deck at attention, not moving a muscle. There weren't many of them; there was simply a small squad. They all wore black, with full-face helmets and shoulder pads of metal. The rest of them were dressed in tight spandex suits, black unlike the shiny silver metal, and their boots were large, with pointed spikes attached to the toes. The man turned his attentions to a younger boy as he entered the bridge, his average-toned white features seeming sullen.

"The men have all assembled… Just like you wished, Baita." The boy said, bowing to him.

"Good." Baita grinned. "You've done well Gemma, now you can watch. We will finally get that man and make him tell us what we want to know."

"Very good milord." The ginger-haired boy said, wearing a black cloak much like his master's. The boy's blue eyes seemed a little regretting though, more than likely of fear from a boy being involved in such a predicament.

"The men will attack the village at once." Baita laughed as he turned to see his men still standing at attention. "They can destroy anything they want during their search, but they can't leave any evidence, and they will bring the man to me, alive."

* * *

"Max! Get up!" 

Max heard a cry from his younger brother Taylor, and felt a smack into the side of his head. He groaned, sitting up and shaking his head. He rubbed his head and looked to his little brother, seeing the distress in his green eyes. Maxwell immediately gained a look of confusion on his face. He got up and got dressed, throwing on his pants and shirt while his brother told him what was happening. By the time he had gotten his sandals on, he was aware that men were attacking the village. With that information in mind, he grabbed his sword from his dresser and held it firmly. He was still confused, though, as to why anyone would attack his village. It didn't make any sense. Why attack a village that was quiet, out of the way, and harmless. Not only that, but who would be crazy enough to do so? Emperor Enrique would surely somehow put a stop to them.

Maxwell ran outside, to see a few men at the center of the village. He ran towards them, Lia also having done the same. They stopped, looked at each other, and then looked at the men. There were three men in black spandex suits, boots and headpieces, and then there was a white-haired man they had never seen before. They appeared to be having a heated argument, many of the villagers having gathered around to watch, others being held in place by other black-suited men. Maxwell had his eyes specifically on the white-haired man, somehow drawn to the scar across his chest from the lower left to his left breast. One of the black-suited men's voices rose up again, snapping everyone to attention.

"Come quietly with us, and we won't hurt these people!" He proclaimed so that everyone could hear.

"These people have done nothing, let them go." The white-haired man said.

"Surrender yourself, and nobody will get hurt." The man said.

Just as the white-haired man went to speak, the two other men who were holding prisoners were knocked out. At the thud they made on the ground, everyone looked to them, only to see Maxwell and Lia, their weapons out. They looked ready to fight.

"You leave these people alone!" Maxwell shouted.

"What!" The men were somehow surprised by this stand.

"Get out of there, kid." The white-haired man said.

"Not a chance!" Maxwell said. "These guys don't come causing trouble in my village!"

"And I'm not a kid!" Lia scoffed at the white-haired man.

"Kid, just buzz of." One of the black-suited men laughed. "We just want this man, nothing else. Give him to us and nobody has to get hurt."

"Look at the way you were handling my mother!" Lia shouted. Her mother was one of the people the men were holding hostage. "Nobody touches her like that!"

"Obviously someone did, since she had you." One of the men laughed.

"WHAT?" Lia was outraged.

"You three are beginning to annoy me." The white-haired man said. "Be gone!"

The white-haired man lunged at the man in the middle then, his katar blade clashing with the black-suited man's sword. They were locked in a test of strength, and Maxwell and Lia just looked at one another in slight confusion. Though, when the other two were about to move in on the white-haired man, Maxwell thought he might as well help him, since the black suited men looked kind of like bad guys. He ran at the one to the white-haired man's left and shouldered him in the back, knocking him to the floor. Lia was a little startled by this act of random heroics, but she quickly followed suit. She lunged her whip out, and skillfully wrapped it around the remaining man's neck. She then pulled back to lunge herself forwards and kick the guy in the back, bringing him and her to the ground. The crowd around them gasped in shock as Maxwell and Lia went about taking the men's weapons away, and stripping them of their armor. In the meantime, with all eyes diverted, the white-haired man still struggled with the man in the middle.

The white-haired man showed fury as he fought with the man to drive him back. But neither of them seemed to be getting anywhere. So the white-haired man lunged forward, thrusting his knee into the black-suited man's gut. The man coughed and keeled forwards a bit, holding his gut. The white-haired man then pushed him onto the ground, stepping away. He looked around quickly and then turned to Maxwell and Lia, asking if there was a boat nearby, or some sort of means of escape. Maxwell and Lia were a little slow, but once their minds caught up with them, they nodded towards the dock. The man looked over to see the lifeboat they had stolen earlier in the day. He thanked them and ran to the boat, jumping into it and starting the motor, he then sailed away without a word. The black-suited men got up then, one still holding their stomach. That one man gave the order to go after the white-haired man, and they ran to their own lifeboat, heading in a different direction. When all was said and done, there was silence. Though many of the villagers were curious as to whom the men were. Over dinner, Maxwell and his family conversed.

They had little idea about who any of the men were, but they weren't going to let it stop them from living their lives. Nobody was hurt; Lia's mother was fine, and everyone was merely a little shaken up. Though they had to proceed with every day life. Lia's father, being a man who was wise and usually prepared for most situations suggested that Lia go with him, her mother, and Maxwell to Sailor's Island to gather shipments for the small item shop opened up in the village. This was of course a good idea. Lia thought immediately that they could sell the Moonstone Maxwell and her had stolen for big bucks over there. So of course, she agreed with little regard to recent events. The blonde haired girl just loved money, and almost everything to do with it, what else could she say? That was probably the main reason she became an Air Pirate with Maxwell in the first place.

The next day they prepared to go. It didn't take much preparation. Lia's father had his own ship, which he had built from the ground up when he was a young boy. It was a small kind of ship, fit for three or four people. It wasn't painted any special colours, or had any fancy decorations; it was just a plain brown ship with white sails and Lia's father's flag. On the flag it hat the personal insignia of an awkward kind of marking that seemed to resemble two S's over-lapping each other. It looked a lot like any old fishing boat. The inside had two bedrooms, and an engine room, and of course there was the deck and the bridge. There were no cannons on the ship, making them completely vulnerable. But, usually if anyone wanted to steal from them, they would board the sad-looking ship, and be fought back by Lia and Maxwell. Looks were definitely deceiving there.

It was a long several hours until they managed to reach Sailor's Island. Maxwell was actually glad to go, never having wanted to dwell on things. It was his own personal belief that if people "walked on eggshells," nothing would get any better. So going on was the best thing to do. He spoke with Lia the entire time about the men, and why he helped the white-haired man. Somehow Maxwell was able to trust the white-haired man without question. The male Air Pirate said that the man with the white hair just seemed to have an air of trust around him. Besides, he was the one that looked like he was in trouble. Lia admitted that the only reason she had helped in the first place was because Maxwell did. She never really understood why until then. They talked like that the whole trip, which was rather smooth, with no problems confronting them. When the ship docked, they unloaded the large Moonstone and lugged it through the town.

Sailor's Island had barely changed a bit. From the few years before, when Vyse had saved the world, little was different. Polly still ran her Tavern across from the Sailor's Guild, but it was a little larger. When her husband Robinson had returned to her, they had many children, about twenty, so it was understandable that an expansion was in order. Down the stone walkway and across the wooden bridge, over the clean blue water, were still the item shop, and the ship merchant's store. To the lest was still the inn and the weapon's shop, and the lighthouse still stood tall and proud, shining its light for lost sailors. Merchants, Pirates, fishermen, and so on still made Sailor's island a common stop on return voyages for parts and a place to stay. It had only gotten larger since Vyse's time, though it had only become slightly busier since then. Maxwell and Lia had rarely come to the place, but were usually glad when they did.

Maxwell and Lia grunted and groaned as they lugged the glittering stone though the town. Merchants and sailors alike eyed it with interest. They lugged it towards the item shop, but dropped it just across the bridge at a stockpile of boxes beside the shop. They sighed, leaning against the boxes and wiping their brows of sweat. Then, with smug little grins, they slapped a price of eight hundred gold on the hunk of precious stone, and sat next to it. Almost immediately, buyers came running, offering prices and such for it. But they all found eight hundred gold far too much, even though the kids thought it was a reasonable price for all the trouble they went through to get the thing in the first place. They stubbornly refused each low offer, especially Lia. She would have no part in anything less than eight hundred gold. Though, if anyone offered more, she surely would have accepted. Every offer seemed lacking and dull, until one man approached them.

The man's Nasr heritage showed with the nomadic veil he wore on his head. It was white, with white cloth hanging down to cover his neck. He was a young man, apparently twenty or so from first glance. His skin was slightly tanned, more than likely from the desert sun, and from what could be seen, his brown hair hung down in a slightly messy way, but still remained decent, and a little spikey. He wore a simple outfit of a sleeveless blue silk shirt, defining his thin, though muscular body. A black cloth tied around his waist, slightly coming over his abdomen, separated the blue of his shirt and pants. His silk blue pants covered his legs to his black boots, and they flared out a wee bit at the bottom, a typical Nasr style. A silver chain necklace around his neck gleamed in the light, and he peered down at the two young Air Pirates, blocking the view of the sun, which shaded his front half, making his green eyes seem deeper. He crossed his arms, a black glove on his left hand with lime green stripes over the knuckles, his face showing a youthful, playful grin.

"Eight-fifty." Were the only words he said, his voice hinting at a free-living nature.

"Huh?" The two Pirates looked up at the man in confusion.

"… You'll pay eight hundred and fifty gold!" Lia cried after a moment of thinking, standing up quickly with a smile.

"Yeah." The man said. "Eight hundred for the stone, and fifty to pay the attractive spokes-girl."

"Wha?" Maxwell was still confused.

"Anyway, you can have it for that much!" Lia said eagerly.

The man dug around in a pouch on waist and said, "Yeah, I need it for my ship. There's a treasure out in the desert you know."

"A treasure?" Max was at attention again.

"Oh yeah." The man said, taking the gold out of the pouch. "It's said to be in a temple under the sands. I might be the only guy in the entire place that knows it's true. I just need the Moonstone there, and some help."

"Hm, well, for that money, you can have the Moonstone!" Lia smiled as she took the money.

"Yeah… But I still need help." The man said.

"Yeah we know that." Maxwell said.

"I could be anybody." The man said again, raising his eyebrows at them. "Anybody at all. You know, anyone who likes adventuring and treasure."

"I like adventuring." Maxwell grinned.

"And I LOVE treasure!" Lia piped in.

"Well why don't you come with me!" The man smiled, full of sarcasm. "I mean, it's not like I was hinting on to that!"

"Wait buddy, we don't even know who you are." Maxwell said.

"The name's Gavin." The man chuckled, holding out a tiny piece of paper to them both. The paper had his name and his address on it. He was apparently a citizen of Maramba. "Treasure hunting's my game."

"I think we could be real good friends, Gavin." Lia said.

"I certainly hope so." He winked to Lia, who seemed not to notice.

"Right… But still, I don't know…" Maxwell said.

"Come on Maxy!" Lia pleaded, looking down at Maxwell.

"Yeah, come on Maxy!" Gavin joked as he stood next to Lia and mimicked her. "What have you got to lose? We'll ask your parents before you go, it's not like I'm gonna kidnap the two of you. If I did that, I wouldn't know what to do with you!"

"Well… If we ask first, I'm sure it'll be all right." Maxwell said in deep thought, he then grinned. "Besides, I want to see this treasure too."

"Trust me, if you two come, I'll make it worth your while." Gavin grinned. "We'll split the treasure three ways. I won't let anything bad happen to you two kids anyways. I doubt there's anything to worry about!"


	2. Chapter 2

Gavin's ship was fairly impressive. It was a mid-sized ship, painted in the traditional Nasr colours of gold, red, and white. The red and white triangles lined the wooden supports holding the golden-painted ship together. It was a simple ship, the front bare with only a headpiece that looked like a snake. The deck was mostly bare, without so much as a small box on board. Lastly there was the hind of the ship, which had the bridge on it. It was raised to look slightly over the headpiece, a ladder leading up to it, and a staircase led down below the deck. Below the deck there were a few rooms. The engine had its very own room, and it hummed with a deep vibration, rattling most of the area around it. Gavin's room was as far as he could get it from the humming engine, being at the far end on the opposing side. There was a storeroom beside that, smelling of salted meat, dried out fruit, sweet milk, and loqua. But the most important room was at the very end. There was a small hangar, and within that hangar were the lifeboat, and copious amounts of treasure from Gavin's last run. Of course, it takes little wonder to know whom the sight exactly infatuated.

"So, done looking around?" Gavin asked as he stepped out of his room.

Gavin had changed slightly in appearance. He had removed his nomadic veil, allowing his long dark brown hair to hang down. He had combed it as well, so it was fairly straight, and it reached his lower neck at the most. Other than that, he hadn't changed at all. Though he was very relieved that he was able to convince Lia and Maxwell's parents to let them come on the trip with him. He knew those little cards would come in handy. Though for some reason, he didn't know why he had chosen a couple of teens to accompany him. That, and he didn't know of any use for them. But with some quick thinking, he had discovered a purpose for them. Gavin decided that he would drive the ship while Maxwell and Lia navigated and worked for him. The two Air Pirates had no intention of saying no, so Gavin was sailing smoothly. After all, looking after a ship that size, and managing its cannons, was difficult all by yourself. He had allowed the two Pirates to look around the ship. But he stressed that if they touched any of the treasure in the hangar, he would tie rocks to their feet and throw them overboard. Of course, he wasn't serious.

"Yep, we're all done." Lia said with a smile.

"It's a pretty nice ship. It's even nicer than your Dad's, Lia." Maxwell said as he took one last look around.

"I'm flattered, really!" Gavin laughed. "It cost a pretty penny to buy this baby alright. But I had no problem, with all the treasure I had dug up in the desert."

"I've never been to the desert before." Maxwell blinked in realization. "What's it like?"

"Well, think of a big hot sandbox." Gavin said.

"That doesn't sound very nice." Maxwell said.

"Well, it grows on you." Gavin said. "So, Maxwell was it? You know how to navigate? I mean I would normally ask a hired hand to take the wheel, but you're just a kid. So I'll take the wheel, for safety's sake."

Maxwell followed the older man to the bridge of the ship then. He never really realized how tall Gavin was. He was certainly above average height, standing at around six feet, give or take. Gavin climbed to the bridge, giving Maxwell a hand up, and then took off towards the wheel. Maxwell looked around in surprise. As small as the room was, there was a whole terminal at the front, windshields gazing into the blue sky. The steering wheel, a dull bronze in colour, sat at the middle of the gray terminal, while gauges and buttons of all different kinds were scattered about the terminal as well. Nearest Maxwell was a small table, made of wood commonly found in Mid Ocean, and on it rested a brand new map. The map didn't cover much area, as Maxwell saw. When he looked at it, it seemed that it merely covered Mid Ocean and the neighboring continent of Nasr. A lantern hung from above with a glass underside, allowing light to shine down on the map at night and light up the bridge at the same time. Though it was only the afternoon, so there was no need for such things yet. Maxwell was a little surprised to notice that Moonstone Mountain's village had not been identified on the map. So taking an ink quill, he added it on.

"So, navigator." Gavin spoke up as he finished the preparations required to start the ship and let it take off from Sailor's Island. "Where to?"

"Hm, well…" Maxwell took a look at the map. "Nasr is to the west, so head in that direction. But a stone reef is blocking the way, so when you see it… I guess you should head a few leagues north towards Nasrad."

"Right you are sir!" Gavin said enthusiastically. "From there, the guards will take me around the reef, where I can sail to Maramba, my home town."

While Gavin was doing that, Lia was, well, busying herself beneath the deck. She was sweeping the floors in the hallway, just doing the usual things, when she had a thought. Gavin was the captain, meaning he owned all the treasure in the hangar. She knew he really wasn't going to throw her nor Maxwell overboard if a piece of treasure went missing. After all, how would he know? But being the captain, he must have hidden the best treasure in a place only he was allowed to go. He must have hidden it in his bedroom! So gradually, she swept closer and closer to Gavin's room. Soon she was right at the door, and with a quick scan, left to right, she opened the door and threw herself inside, shutting it behind her. She grinned to herself with her back against the door as she faced the room, taking an eyeful. Sadly, there didn't seem to be much there. There was simply a bed, an end table, and a desk with all sorts of papers and things scattered about. The rest of the room was clean and well organized, all except for the desk. Lia sighed when she couldn't find any treasure at first sight, but she wasn't discouraged. She began searching on Gavin's desk with a grin – after all, she was an Air Pirate.

While looking on the desk, Lia stumbled upon a picture. She picked it up, blinking and looking at it. There were three people in the picture, and one of them was Gavin, so they must have been people he knew. On the left, there was a woman, dressed in common Nasr clothes. She had brown hair, like Gavin's, but it looked to be fading. The woman must have been entering the elderly stage. Lia giggled to herself, wondering to herself if she would still be beautiful even when she was that old. Beside her, several inches taller, was Gavin. He had his arm around her shoulder, and they both seemed to be equally tanned, so they must have both lived in the desert. Gavin was winking to the camera with a cheeky grin, while having his gloved left hand on someone else's back. Being at the far right was a girl that looked to be around Maxwell's age. She had beautiful red hair that framed her tanned face and green eyes. She looked to be rather… buxom, in Lia's opinion. She shook her head, wondering just who these people were. Maybe they were friends of Gavin's, or perhaps his family? But Lia's thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone open the door. She scrambled then, dropping the picture, but just barely catching it.

"What are you doing?" Maxwell poked his head into the room with a knowing grin. "You're not rooting through Gavin's room, are you?"

"No, no way!" Lia laughed a bit, putting on her best fake smile and pretending to have been organizing Gavin's desk. "I was just cleaning up this mess that Gavin left on his desk!"

"Yeah, right." Maxwell opened up the door the rest of the way and leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed. "I don't think it'd be nice to steal from Gavin. He hired us after all, and it wouldn't be right."

"We're Air Pirates, Maxy." Lia said flatly. "That's sort of what we **do**."

"Well still, if you do, I'll have to tell your Mom." Maxwell said, still grinning. "And we both know how she gets when she finds out you stole something from someone else."

"You wouldn't dare." Lia stared at him with agitated snake eyes.

"I would so." Maxwell chuckled.

"You're a real card Maxy, you know that?" Lia asked. "You'd make any Air Pirate look like a chump with the way you act sometimes."

"We did it earlier the other day." Maxwell shrugged as he left. "I'm an Air Pirate, Lia, it's sort of what I **do**."

It was several minutes, possibly over an hour of loitering while Gavin steered until the ship jerked to a stop. Maxwell and Lia were surprised to see that they had come upon a land made entirely of sand. Gavin really wasn't lying with his description. From what Maxwell could see, the ground was covered in sand that skimmed across the surface at each warm breeze that passed through. The heat beating down on them was equivalent to a hot summer's day in Mid Ocean, and there was barely a cloud in the sky that would block the sun. Before them, across from the docks was an old building with two signs, both symbolizing a Sailor's Guild and a Ship Parts Shop. Maxwell smiled to himself, realizing that merchants probably passed through here enough to require such things. Across the docks, lighthouses stood with flames burning eternally in red Moonstone, though it wasn't on, since it was only mid-afternoon. The dusty trail led up to a set of gates that more than likely led to the city. Lia shielded her lavender eyes from the sun's rays to look around. She didn't seem too pleased.

Gavin explained the theory towards the unbearable heat, which he seemed so adjusted to. The theory actually was devised only a few years before, during Vyse's early time, before he became even close to becoming a legend. There was a stone in the temple that rested a few leagues north of Maramba called the Temple of Pyrnn. Within this temple was said to be a red Moon Crystal, the most concentrated form of a Moonstone that ever existed. It shined with a bright red glow, and was a little smaller than a cannon ball, and a lot lighter. It came from the Red Moon in ancient times, when Moonstones rained from the sky and killed millions. It was said that the heat exerted from this Moon Crystal had seeped into the land, making it into a barren desert that supported little to no life. No more description was required about the stone. Both Maxwell and Lia knew of Vyse, and the Crystal's actual purpose. They both knew of the horrendous monsters known as Gigas. In fact, rarely did anyone visit the Temple of Pyrnn, because the Red Gigas slept a few leagues away from it.

The Gigas, as they were called, were super-weapons, in a way. A few years back, Valua had attempted together the Moon Crystals to summon the Gigas, though Vyse was able to stop them. The Gigas were capable of mass amounts of destruction. There was one under each Moon, one of each colour: red, green, blue, yellow, purple and silver. Luckily they were never all awakened at once since the Ancient times, when the Old World still stood proud and everyone was technologically advanced. But for a few years since Vyse's legend, there was peace, and everyone lived in harmony. The Gigas were anything but a threat, all having been put back to sleep where they had awakened. Needless to say, both Maxwell and Lia listened to Gavin as he explained this while heading towards Maramba.

Maramba was still a small portside desert town. Upon opening the big doors, the wide expanse of desert was littered with several buildings. There were large ones to the left, and smaller ones to the right, though housing didn't seem to differ much. All the buildings were the proper size depending on what they were. The inn and the mayor's homes were the largest, while regular residence and the shops were smaller. People busied about carrying water to store, and Dhabu – large dinosaur-like animals with small trunks - roamed the streets lugging supplies. There was a wooden fencing around the city, separating the town from the sand that seemed just too hot to walk on, with noticeable heat waves coming from it. Gavin led them through the town, going to the smaller houses, just past the weapons shop, to a small home, that was slightly larger than the rest. He stopped there and turned to him, his tanned skin lit by the over-head sun. He smiled to them and leaned in close to speak quietly then.

"Okay you two, I need you to be good little Pirates or whatever you are and be on your best behavior." His grin made it seem like what he was saying was anything but serious, but when he rested his hands on their shoulders, it became clear that he was. "This is my family's home. My mother and younger sister live here. I don't visit too much, so I don't want you guys being bad, okay?"

"Yes _Daddy_." Lia rolled her eyes.

"Call me that again." Gavin smirked. "I liked it."

"Uh, right, let's just go already. We'll be good." Lia sighed.

Gavin chuckled and turned to the door on it, giving a playful, rhythmic knock on it. Soon, some movement was heard from inside, and both of the young Air pirates waited curiously to see who would answer. Soon, the wooden door opened, and out stepped a girl. She looked about Maxwell's age, wearing a coral coloured dress with sleeves that reached a little passed her wrists, which made the dress look a little big for her. It flowed down to her feet where a corn silk shade lining was at the bottom, which showed she was wearing light leather moccasins. Her red hair was shining with health, and it came down with a curl to frame her green eyes and stop at the lower most back of her neck. Her skin was tanned from the desert sun, and even with the large dress, prominent curves would show slightly from within. She looked up at the twenty one year old man before her for a moment, then at the people behind him. That was when her face seemed to light up upon noticing Maxwell. The stare he was receiving made him feel a little awkward. He blinked at her with a dumb stare.

His red hair, with its cute curls left and right, and his flawlessly tanned skin… His powerful, yet somehow contained build, and even his choice of clothing seemed to arouse interest in her. His brown eyes that held a very small, almost unnoticeable gold hue captivated her, bringing a burning blush to her cheeks. To her, Maxwell seemed to come off as a handsome wanderer, and the sword dangling from his waist completed this infatuating courageous flare for the girl. Her gaze lingered on the young man for what seemed to be an eternity to her, but in all reality, it was only just long enough to make the people standing at the door wonder what was wrong with her. Gavin raised an eyebrow while reaching out to poke his gloved index finger at her forehead, making her snap back to the real world. Gavin looked at her with a flat look.

"Mom!" The girl called back into the house with her cute though upbeat voice, turning her head to do so. "Gavin's here!"

She looked back at Maxwell again, and then turned back into the house. "And he brought a girl and a dreamy guy!"

"W-What?" Maxwell blinked nervously, clearly surprised by the comment.

"Let them in." A calm voice called back.

The teenage girl let them inside the house then, Gavin walking inside first while the two Air Pirates followed behind, Max looking at the girl for a moment to see her eyes glue on him. With a slight blush, he jerked his gaze away and looked around the house. The house was fairly small, only having one other room, more than likely being the bedrooms. The house certainly held a feminine sense of decoration, since it looked like two females were the only inhabitants. Red Moonstones burned in the fireplace, a smell of blissfully cooked meat filled the house, the source being fresh meat over the blazing fire. The house had simple tiling on the floor, and stone walls and roofing. There were a few windows for light, and a low table was rested before them made of fine wood, a few cushions on the ground around them. An old rocking chair sat before the fire, accompanied by more cushions, and there were various supplies upon the counters along the far left corner. Most of the tools on the counter were for skinning animals, and cooking tools to prepare the meat. Along the walls were a few exotic paintings, and a hanger for coats and such. Other than that, the small house was fairly plain.

A woman got up from the rocking chair wand walked over to Gavin, giving him a hug, which he kindly returned. She had brown that was tied into a long braid at the back, though it looked to be fading. The woman must have been entering the elderly stage. She was still a few inches shorter than Gavin, and she wore a long cream-coloured dress that had coral linings on the cuffs and hem. Her feet could not be seen. Her body was fairly well hidden beneath the dress, even her neck, as it had a slight collar. Her bangs hung down over her eyes, and as she pulled from Gavin, she brushed them aside and examined the two young Air Pirates with a sweet smile, her green eyes showing a gentle nature. Gavin smiled, looking to the two girls.

"Hello mother, how have you been?" Gavin asked.

"I've been doing quite alright." The woman smiled to Gavin. "Who might you have brought home today? Are these friends of yours?"

"Ah, right." Gavin chuckled. "Mom, these are Maxwell and Lia. They agreed to come with me on a treasure hunt."

"Maxwell, Lia, this is my mother, Sarine." Gavin then said as he turned to the two teenagers.

"Nice to meet you." Both of them said.

"The pleasure is all mine." Sarine insisted. "A friend of my son's is always welcome in my home. But I must warn you, be careful while hunting for your gimmicks in the desert. Gavin is usually in dangerous places, and gets himself into trouble."

"Don't worry about it." Gavin rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Gavin, you're forgetting someone." The young girl then spoke, standing beside Sarine.

"Right, Maxwell, Lia, this is my little sister Nola. She's sixteen." Gavin said, feeling a little awkward introducing the two Air Pirates to his family.

"Well hello Maxwell." Nola said, next to him in a minute.

"Uh, hey." Maxwell chuckled slightly with a nervous little smile.

"Well, please, sit down, all of you. Lunch will be ready soon, you can tell us about yourselves." Sarine said with a smile.

"Sweet, lunch." Gavin grinned. "I think you guys will love Mom's cooking. I have a spice I picked up in the ship, a whole vase full of it that comes up to my waist. I think you'll like it."

The five of them soon sat at the table on the floor. Maxwell and Lia were a little uncomfortable having to sit on the cushions on the floor. It was a lot different than what they were used to back in Mid Ocean. They conversed over the smell of spicy, perfectly cooked meat that would make any person's mouth water. Sarine and Nola didn't seem as surprised about Maxwell and Lia. Gavin had always come home with tales of the places he'd been to, and all the customs and things. In fact, most of the entire continent of Nasr knew about Mid Ocean and North Ocean. Since it was such a successful trading continent, they were all too familiar with foreign lands. Nola, though, seemed especially interested in Maxwell. She sat beside him, very close. It was obvious to everyone there that she seemed very attracted to him. She may have been pretending, but again and again she would ask Maxwell questions about him, and where he lived, and what he did. She found the idea of him being an Air pirate especially interesting, though. She even asked where he had gotten his lovely sash from, and when he explained that his father gave it to him, she asked about his father.

Maxwell had mixed feelings about talking about his father. His father was dead, so talking about him was always difficult. Maxwell wasn't like most other kids without a father. He had actually known his father before he passed away, and loved him with all his heart. On the other hand however, it was always interesting for the other person to hear about his father. Maxwell's father was a very successful sailor. He sailed around the world, just like Vyse the Legend had done, and clarified that Vyse was not lying. He visited all sorts of places, and apparently got Maxwell's sash from a place far to the east. Maxwell never had a chance to ask him about it, because shortly after, his father's ship sunk beneath the clouds. Nobody knew why, there didn't seem to be a reason for it, but it happened. Maxwell hated that part, so he was very brief about describing his father to Nola and the others.

After lunch, Gavin suggested that Maxwell and Lia go and look around Maramba. He was going to gather supplies and prepare for the trip out into the desert. Maxwell and Lia didn't see any reason why they shouldn't have done what he said, so they left his home. Outside the house, next to the wall though, was a surprise. Maxwell looked over to see his little brother Taylor. Both Maxwell and Lia were surprised to see the young boy, sitting in the sand in his over-alls with short legs, his red bangs spiked to a point on his head. His slightly tanned skin was lit up under the sunlight, and he hopped up, looking at his brother with his deep blue eyes. His large boots stayed firmly planted in the sand where he was, a pair of binoculars hanging from his neck. He raised a tan, long sleeve covered arm in a wave and opened his mouth to speak. But as soon as he did, Maxwell took his arm and led him away from the house.

"Taylor, how the heck did you get here!" Maxwell shouted when he was at a distance away from the house, Lia following close.

"I snuck aboard Lia's Dad's ship and followed you onto that guy's ship." Taylor said as he pulled his arm away from Maxwell.

"Why would you do that, Taylor?" Lia asked, a lot calmer than Maxwell was. "Won't your parents be worried?"

"Nope." Taylor crossed his arms cockily. "I've done this a whole bunch of times. They know EXACTLY where I am."

"Gavin's card…" Maxwell spoke in realization, but then went back to being mad at Taylor. "You little…! You KNOW you're not supposed to follow me out!"

"But you have all the fun!" Taylor shouted back, the twelve-year-old boy looking up at his brother. "It's not fair!"

"You're too young!" Maxwell pointed out.

"Am not!" Taylor snapped back. "**Vyse** had young children on **his** ship!"

"Do I look like Vyse?" Maxwell asked rhetorically, with a handful of sarcasm. "You're going home!"

"No!" Taylor shouted.

"Yes!" Maxwell shouted back.

Lia blinked at the two bickering boys, looking from one to the other as they shouted yes and no, back and forth. She then took her eyes off them to look around. Although they were away from the house to avoid any embarrassment brought about by Gavin and his family, nearly everyone else in sight was looking at the three of them. Lia's face went red with embarrassment as she turned to look at the two guys then. They continued fighting ignorantly, ignoring everyone around them. Look back and forth between the two boys and the people around her, Lia's embarrassment soon converted itself into anger. She grit her teeth and reached out, grabbing both of them by their ears. They both stopped and looked to Lia dumbly before she began to drag them off to a more private place. They whined and complained about them being hurt by her, but she ignored them until she got into private.

"Smarten up!" She scolded. "Maxell, there's not much we can do right now about Taylor, he's too far away, and we're leaving to go on our hunt soon."

Maxwell sighed. She was right. Taylor grinned and stuck out his tongue at Maxwell.

"And you!" Lia turned her attentions to Taylor. "Quit pestering, or else."

Taylor was almost like a scolded dog when Lia raised her hand threateningly.

"Sorry." They both mumbled.

"That's better. Now let's go find somewhere to have a drink." Lia said.

With that, they left their private spot between a couple of buildings and looked around. There didn't seem to be any sort of place to ask for a drink, even though it was burning hot. So, asking someone who passed, they discovered that there was a tavern across the heated sands. Looking towards the heated sands, they saw an extension of Maramba, which seemed to be separated by sands so hot, they would melt someone's feet. They walked all the way to the fence marking where the "safe sand" stopped and leaned against it, eying the heat waves coming from it. Their mouths got dry just by looking at it. Luckily, there was a mode of transportation nearby. After all, the inhabitants got over there, why couldn't a few visitors? They were forced to get across by way of a Dhabu. Conveniently there was a man stationed next to the fence that gave people Dhabu to ride on in order to get around.

Now Dhabu were no small animals. They were pink dinosaur-like animals, all as tall as most of the buildings in Maramba. They easily towered over people, and could have squashed one if they stepped wrongly. Luckily, nearly everything about the Dahbu said lazy. They walked slow, though faster than a normal human's leisurely stroll, and their eyes seemed to sag, as if they needed to get to sleep. Their trunks, fairly narrow, and small for most senses of the name, sagged and flopped about when they walked. Maxwell, Lia and Taylor were all able to fit on one, that being just how big they were. They all sat upon the cream-coloured saddle, Lia sitting behind Maxwell, arms around him to keep from falling, and Taylor in front of Maxwell, between his arms while he held the reins required for riding. Maxwell then rode with the two of them to the fence, which opened and allowed the Dhabu to pass through. Dhabu were the only known animals able to withstand such high temperatures, and were able to cross the sands without so much as a slight tingle in their feet. They passed to the other side of Maramba, which merely had two buildings, and got off the Dhabu, leaving it where it was, and heading towards the tavern, which was clearly marked with a sign.

Walking into the building, it was noticeably different than most. The walls were coloured like white smoke, and the floors and ceiling were both a dull gray. There was a man at the counter who greeted them and asked them to help themselves to a table. They did so, walking to a table and sitting down, the table being much the same as Gavin's, being low to the ground. They sat down and looked around the atmosphere. It seemed suited for daytime, but there were only a few tables, so it wasn't really big. At the far end, though, there was a stage, and upon the stage, a woman was dancing. It must have been some sort of common thing to have exotic dancers in taverns. With all the men who had more than likely come in to gawk at her, it seemed to Maxwell at least, that she must have gotten paid quite nicely. She was dressed in revealing, fine silks that showed her figure well, and flowed with the movements she made. Maxwell didn't pay too-too much attention though as Lia spoke about what was going on to Taylor.

After several minutes, and the teenager's discovery of the loqua being spicy, the dancer approached them.

"Well hello there." She said, looking at them all.

"Oh? Hello." Lia blinked up at her.

"Can we help you?" Maxwell asked, blinking up at her too.

"No, I just haven't seen you here before. I figured you must be travelers." The dancer said as she sat down beside Maxwell, cross-legged. "Any reason why you're here in particular?"

"We're going on a treasure hunt." Maxwell answered. Not sure what we expect to find though…"

"Oh." She laughed a bit, combing her bright red hair out of her eyes. "Gavin must have talked you into doing that."

"Huh? How did you know?" Lia asked.

"Oh, Gavin comes in here all the time, when he's around." The dancer giggled. Her long red hair seemed to flow down her back, and curled out in some places at the sides. "He keeps hitting on me, to tell the truth. I don't mind attention, but he certainly makes it a habit."

"He hits on Lia too." Maxwell laughed.

"That guy sounds stupid." Taylor chimed in.

"Gavin is very bright." The dancer said. "But he tends not to show it so often. He can do a lot of things if he really applies himself. What I don't get is why he hasn't realized that a group of men have already come for the treasure I'm sure you're speaking of, and have claimed the site for in excavation."

"What?" Maxwell asked.

"Many men have come in here recently. They kept saying that they're looking for a treasure under the sands. They're part of an official archeologist group." The dancer said. "When Gavin hears that, he'll more than likely be crushed."

"Man, that sucks." Taylor said.

"Yeah, that means we don't get any treasure." Lia frowned.

"Hey!" A voice called out, and everyone looked over to see Gavin. He approached them, a sword sheathe on his back, a leather strap across his chest holding it on. He walked over to the dancer and grinned, taking her hand.

"And hello to you, beautiful Chelle." He said.

"Gavin, how many times have I told you not to hit on me at work?" Chelle, the dancer that had been speaking to them, scolded Gavin in a mock tone.

"Sorry." Gavin said, letting go of her hand and looking to the Air Pirates. "You all ready to go? Hey… who's the kid?"

"That would be Taylor, my little brother." Maxwell said. "He snuck his way here with us. We didn't know he was going to come though."

"Tut tut." Gavin shook his head, looking to Taylor. "Well, don't worry, he'll get his just desserts."

"And we're not ready to go. A bunch of men have already claimed the site, apparently." Lia sighed.

"I know." Gavin smirked. "Are you ready to go?"

"Huh? But Gavin…" Lia went to speak.

"Are you, or aren't you?" Gavin asked, crossing his arms.

"I… guess we are." Maxwell looked at Lia, confused.

"Good. Chelle? Would you mind looking after the little one?" Gavin asked, turning to Chelle.

"Certainly, no harm's going to come to him while you're gone." Chelle answered. It didn't seem she was lying. As beautiful as she was, she was very fit for a woman.

"Then come on you two, back to my house." Gavin said as he turned to leave.

Gavin told them that the men who were digging for the treasure had it all wrong. Regardless, the only way to get inside was to sneak in. His plan was to sneak in with disguises. Maxwell and Lia both liked that idea. They went back home, and Nola oh-so-graciously showed them the cache of clothes she had hidden away in her home. They weren't just women's clothes though, oh no, they were all kinds of clothes. She let Maxwell and Lia loose on it – though, only when Maxwell asked. The two Air Pirates had to choose their outfits accordingly. They had to look as if they were from Nasr, or hired to work with the men. Both found outfits that would fit them, Gavin having his own outfit stored away in his own hiding spot for just this kind of thing back on his ship. Maxwell and Lia came out with their outfits and changed, Lia going first. It took a few moments until she poked her head out of the door.

"I… don't know if I really want to wear this so much anymore." Lia said, hinting at a blush, which she rarely got when nervous.

"Come on, how bad can it be?" Maxwell pointed out.

"Fine." Lia sighed as she stepped out of the bedroom.

Maxwell had to blink once or twice to check if his eyes were right. Lia was wearing a very exotic outfit! Her hair was done up in a long braid at the back, her bangs worn to frame her lavender eyes. Much of her pale skin was exposed until it reached a top much like her own, though much, much smaller. It was made merely to hide the necessary amount of her chest, nothing more. It held tightly to her form, the light pink top being somewhat tight to her chest. She still wore her golden bracelets and Sapphire earrings, but she also had golden, solid lining on the waistline of her pants. The waistline was shaped to a point that showed more of her trim, smooth stomach than her skirt would have. The pale pink pants were puffy, unique to Nasr, and her dainty feet in a pair of decorative shoes that came up to a point like Taylor's hair at the toes. She held her left arm shyly, her right arm draped over her stomach, her lavender eyes averted, her ruby red lipstick all glossy and beautiful. She felt very exposed in her new outfit.

"Lia…?" Maxwell said her name, but it almost came out as questioning.

"…" Lia didn't respond.

"Lia, you look fantastic!" Maxwell smiled.

"Really…?" She looked to Maxwell, a light smile appearing on her face.

"Certainly." Gavin's mother approved. "You look like a beautiful young lady."

"There's ab-so-lutely nothing wrong with showing off what you've got every now and again!" Nola said enthusiastically. "I'm sure you'll catch the attention of all the guys."

She looked to Maxwell then, who was still studying Lia's outfit. The teenager stared at him with snake eyes for a moment before nudging him to get his attention. "You next, Maxy!"

Maxwell went to change into his outfit then. It took him a few minutes until he got out. He stepped out and put his arms out beside him, looking at himself. He had a pair of goggles on, which seemed solid, like he couldn't see. In all reality, it had shutters rather than glass to see out of. He looked down at the lime-green vest he was wearing that was open at the front, exposing his tanned chest. At about his slightly toned abdomen, he still wore his red silk, decorative sash that hung down to his right side. Salmon coloured pants came down much like his old blue ones, and ended at the pair of leather sandals he wore rather than his old wooden ones. He didn't quite know what to think. His sword still dangled from his hip, which made him look somewhat like a bandit. Lia smiled somewhat at him, while Nola stared at him dreamily.

"Pretty spiffy there." Lia said as she crossed her arms.

"You think so?" Maxwell grinned, striking a little pose.

"You look absolutely dreamy…" Nola said, as if she was in a trace. Maxwell blushed as both him and Lia looked at her.

"Whoa there." Gavin's voice came in from the door. "Look at you two!"

Gavin was looking fairly spiffy himself, if not a little bit comical. Nobody would have known that it was Gavin beneath the outfit the young man was wearing. His nomadic veil was on again though it was longer, only a few of his bangs hanging down, the rest of his hair being hidden. A large pair of sunglasses hid his eyes from sight, while a white silk face cover hid his mouth. He wore a white sort of cloak that was pinned to his chest with a broach, a long sleeve white shirt beneath it. He wore baggy pants almost like Lia's, though he had a red sash almost like Maxwell's over his waist, the only difference was his had no extra fabric to hang down. His cloak ended at about his knees, almost like a cape, and his decorative shoes, almost like Lia's but more masculine, showing. His sword was still on his back, the golden handle with a piece of red Moonstone glimmering at the hilt.

"And look at you!" Lia said.

"Isn't that a little bit suspicious?" Maxwell asked.

"Nah." Gavin responded. "It'll be fine. Are we ready to go?"

"Does Maxwell have to go so soon?" Nola complained.

"Yeah, I do." Maxwell said, almost as if he wanted to leave. "I have to go right away, right Gavin?"

"Yeah, they men that are going to the dig are leaving soon." Gavin said. "There's no time to waste."


	3. Chapter 3

"This way! We're about to arrive!"

The desert sun beat down on the sand like light through a magnifying glass. It was always apparent, always scorching. A group of travelers, of all different shapes and sizes, traveled in a single-file line through the frying pan of a desert. They were a little tired, though many of them were used to the heat, being of Nasr heritage. Only two were from elsewhere. They sat up on one of the large Dahbu that were mostly being used for lugging tents, food and water through the desert. The teenage boy with the ruby-red hair and goggles held firmly to the reins of the Dahbu, while the young woman behind him sat with her arms around him to stay on for the ride. She sighed from behind the small veil that covered the lower part of her face and rested her body against the teenaged boy's back. Her long braid swayed behind her with the Dahbu's movements. The blonde shine in her healthy long hair caught the attention of many who walked along side her or behind her. Those that were in front of her weren't going to look back any time soon.

"At least we don't have to walk." Lia sighed against Maxwell's neck.

"If only we were all so lucky." Gavin grumbled, his gloved hand holding some more reins, leading the Dahbu along the path.

"It's real hot out here." Maxwell sighed, his breath seeming more heated than usual. "I'd give anything for some water."

Soon, they stopped. The three imposters looked around, seeing nothing but the wide expanse of desert and sky. They were out in the middle of nowhere! The leader told them to stop and start setting up camp. The two Air Pirates couldn't believe it. Gavin didn't complain though, letting the Dahbu go and began helping out. The other two followed his example and helped out setting up tents. It was hard, uncomfortable work, especially for Lia. The young woman, ripe as she could ever seem to be, perfectly on the threshold of adulthood… was the only female on the whole site. Of course, this came with its ups and downs. She didn't have to lift a finger at least, but she felt threatened all the same. She was offended that they thought she wasn't fit for manual labor. But while that was true, they did ask her to be a dancer in the main tent. This almost pushed the lithe, young blonde over the edge. Luckily, Maxwell was able to keep the young maiden from lashing out and attacking one of the men. Gavin, on the other hand, could only laugh.

After the camp was set and the Dahbu were tied up, the workers all went to have a big lunch in the main tent. Now, the tent was the size of a small tavern, so many people could fit inside. There were small tables set up, and each one of these people sat on the ground at the tables to enjoy their meals. Though, the men wouldn't let Lia do anything of the sort. As soon as she moved to seat herself beside Maxwell, a man approached her. Maxwell raised an eyebrow as they told her she had to dance. Apparently, digging was not a woman's job. But entertainment was? Lia declined immediately, wanting to find the treasure as much as the next guy. Though, they threatened to kick her out of the site if she didn't co-operate. Gavin moved to stand up in an outrage, but Maxwell urged him to sit down and be quiet. With that having been done, Lia looked to Maxwell for guidance. Maxwell suggested she go, for the sake of the treasure. He promised he would save her some food for when she was done. Lia had never had any reason to doubt Maxwell before, so she agreed. The rest of the time, Maxwell didn't touch his food. He and Gavin watched Lia as she was practically forced to dance for these older men.

It went on for a very long time. Gavin grinned, trying to make everything better by treating it like it was something to be taken lightly. He commented on how good she looked. Maxwell looked to him and shrugged with a nod. He wasn't able to properly say what he may have wanted to. It didn't seem appropriate. That and he didn't want to break eye contact with Lia. As a sort of safety measure, she looked over at Max as often as she could. Maxwell wouldn't show much emotion, but he would just look back at her, letting her know that he was still there. The entire time, his vest was curled over his bowl, as it was full of some kind of stew. Gavin blinked at this, taking notice, but hesitating to point it out. Soon, though, he was curious, and decided to ask.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"No." Maxwell responded.

"You sure?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow and gazing at Maxwell as if he weren't being cautious enough.

Maxwell stayed silent. It was well into the afternoon before the tent was empty. Maxwell was the last to leave. He picked up his vest carefully, the bowl of stew wrapped securely within. He left the tent then and looked around. Lia wasn't anywhere to be seen. He walked around to the side of the tent and looked about again. The men had gotten to work, so he couldn't have yelled. He turned around to the back of the tent then, spotting the blonde-haired girl. She was seated on a crate, chin cradled in her hands as she stared at her feet. The look on her face was rather vengeful. She certainly wasn't happy, but rather, agitated. She looked up, noticing Maxwell, and shedding a slight smile. She sat up and extended her arms out to him, reaching for the vest, knowing what was inside. He grinned a bit and stepped closer, unraveling the vest and letting her take the bowl. He sat down in the sand then, beside her, as she cupped the bowl in her hands, bringing the rim to her lips to drink the thick stew from it, since she had no utensils.

"Thanks Maxy." She smiled as she brought the bowl away from her lips.

"No problem." He smiled to her, giving her a thumbs up. "It's the least I could do. Those guys didn't let you eat after all."

"It's not fair." Lia sighed, drinking down more of the stew for a moment, pulling it from her red, shining lips soon after. "They're treating me different because I'm a woman."

"Yeah, I know." Maxwell nodded. "I don't see the big deal. I mean a woman can do what a man can do, can't they?"

"Hmm, I've noticed that people just label women like that." Lia sighed again. "I'm sure you'd understand. Women are just different."

"I'm not a kid." Maxwell chuckled. "I know what you mean. But still…"

"There's nothing to be done about it." Lia waved him off. "Besides! It not like I don't know what effect I have on men."

"Effect?" Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Mmm, well…" Lia finished the stew, standing up and turning to Maxwell. Maxwell looked up at her, and she leaned over, handing the bowl to him. He took it, looking up at her through the shutters of his goggles. She smiled behind the slightly translucent veil that covered her face. She teasingly brushed a fingernail under his chin as she stood up again, stepping away from him. She giggled and blew him a kiss then, making him go a little red in the cheeks, though he was confused all the same. She thanked him for the food and walked away then, and Maxwell watched her go in some slight confusion. He looked at the bowl then, studying it for a moment before standing up and going to put it with the rest.

In the meantime, while the men were digging and digging, finding nothing, Gavin was studying the site. His arms were crossed as he stood still, just surveying the site behind the large sunglasses he was wearing. It looked like a large expanse of sand, just like the rest of the desert. He stepped towards the designated spot and got down on his hands and knees, looking around the ground. He found nothing but sand. With that, he stood up and looked to the west side of the site. He shook his head with a laugh as he stepped over in that direction a few leagues and then got down again. He brushed his gloved hand over the sand in a sweeping motion. Back and forth, back and forth, brushing sand side to side. Soon, his fingers made contact with a stone. He smiled then, calling for an extra brush. Someone threw him one, and he brushed over the stone to reveal a sort of point. He grinned widely behind his face cover, as he knew exactly what he had found. He went and fetched Lia and Maxwell, who looked at it.

The point was like a stone point on a roof or something like that. With a little smirk, Gavin chipped off a layer of the point. It fell off easily, being nothing but a mere layer of dried sand. Beneath it glittered a sort of crystal. Lia's eyes lit up at the sight. Gavin nodded to himself, chipping off all the sediment until a mini-pyramid of crystal poked out from the sand. Wiping his bro, Gavin then stood up and told Maxwell and Lia to stay and make sure nobody saw the crystal pyramid as he stepped away, searching through the sand for something else. Maxwell and Lia watched as their friend moved about, brushing along the sand to expose things. The older man muttered to himself, occasionally nodding. Something seemed to be going right. Gavin had made a series of stops where be brushed along the sand until he came back to Lia and Maxwell. He then told them to stand back. Doing so, they watched him with interest.

Gavin stepped over to them, throwing thee chisel and brush away and he felt around with his foot, facing away from them. He looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed at it. With a nod, he looked back at the two Air Pirates and tilted his sunglasses down his face to look at them with his naked eyes. They both stood still as they had been asked, confused as they gazed back at him. The older, Nasr man laughed lightly as he turned back to where he was facing. He then stomped his foot, causing a sort of mechanism to trigger. It made a loud clicking nose, and then a soft rumbling nose. Maxwell and Lia stood in fear and wonder as they looked around themselves, the ground at their feet shaking. Soon, plate-sized mirrors shot up from the sand, shining brightly. Lia had jumped at the speed they shot from the sand, but soon settled. There was an awkward silence then, a gust of wind going by.

"… Gavin?" Maxwell spoke up.

"One second!" Gavin snapped back at him.

Soon, the sun hit just the right spot. An upturned mirror further reacted to produce a magnifying glass from the sand. Maxwell and Lia watched in awe as the glass moved to face the sun, sending a beam of light at the mirror. After a short pause, the beam began to bounce off the mirrors. It went from mirror to mirror, bouncing around in all sorts of awkward, very well placed angles. Maxwell and Lia watched as the beam of light bounced around to make a small pattern in the sand, until the light hit the back of Gavin's leg. Look down, Gavin laughed and stepped to the side, allowing the beam of light to hit the small, crystal pyramid. A stronger quaking occurred in the ground then. Gavin turned and ran away, telling the two Air pirates to get back as well. All the men at the site were drawn to the rumbling, and they all watched in awe as something began to rise from the sand. Lia clung to Maxwell in fear of an earthquake as a large structure began rising from the sands, the crystal tip only being a very, very small part of it. Slowly, a large pyramid, one as big as any palace, or as big as the Temple of Pyrnn that rested only a few several leagues to the north. They all watched in awe as it stopped, towering over them, making them seem like insects. The crystal tip gleamed in the light, beautifully.

"Just as I thought." Gavin chuckled.

"Wow Gavin…!" Lia cried out, hurrying to him. "How did you know that?"

"Just a little something I picked up." He winked to her. "Shall we?"

"Hold on!" A man spoke, supposedly the leader of the excavation. He spoke in a strong Nasr accent. "You cannot enter it alone! The rest of the men must accompany you."

"Damn it." Gavin mumbled to himself.

"And we shall all go in tomorrow." The man said. "Anyone caught going in earlier, loses their entire share."

This left the three imposters discouraged. The rest of the day was spent surveying, and Gavin was given full credit for the discovery of the mysterious pyramid. Giving it much thought, he decided to name it "_Inculta Pyramid_." After which, the men celebrated, forcing Lia to dance yet again. After the celebration, they headed off to sleep, so they had the energy to explore every corridor within the pyramid. One man was left on watch during the night so nobody could enter the pyramid early. But much like any cunning treasure hunter or Air Pirate, Gavin, Maxwell and Lia devised a plan to sneak in. This was a simple plan that took very little effort to pull off. Late at night, letting the two Air Pirates sleep, Gavin waited. As soon as it was time, he woke the two kids up and headed out while the two stayed back and gathered themselves. Gavin walked out to the man, told him his shift was up, and wished him a good night's rest. With that, he allowed Maxwell and Lia entry, following them inside in the dead silence of the night.

Inculta Pyramid was dark, much darker than the red, moonlight sands of the desert. The imposters couldn't see a foot before them. Gavin took a moment, taking a spare torch into his gloved right hand and held it up. With his left hand, he then drew his sword. Gavin's sword alone was a piece of work. It had sharp, jagged edges, so it seemed almost like a saw. The tip was very sharp, and the blade seemed to be made out of finely polished silver. The hilt, which he clutched firmly, was of solid gold, red leather tied tightly around the handle for easy grip. On the very end was a finely processed red Moonstone. It seemed almost like a jewel glittering beautifully on the end. With a grin, he turned the sword upside down, the red jewel facing upwards. It soon ignited with a bright orange glow, and a small fireball shot from it, hitting the torch, the flammable cloth and chemicals bursting into a controlled flame. The twenty-one year old man then sheathed the sword again.

"Wow." Maxwell smiled in surprised at Gavin. "That was cool… My sword can't do that."

"You'd be surprised the kinds of things you pick up on when you hunt for treasure." Gavin responded, holding the torch over his head, the narrow corridor they found themselves in appearing to be faintly lit. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Walking down the corridor, it seemed that all it really did was branch off into other corridors. It was a maze if there ever was one. This was apparently deliberate, according to Gavin, as the people who built them stashed treasures inside. Hearing that just made them want to find the treasure more. They wandered the corridors, occasionally hearing faint noises from further within, such as the scurrying of tiny feet, or faint growls. Maxwell grinned at this, taking his green Moonstone sword and holding it ready. Though it seemed no matter how far the three of them ventured, the light of the torch and the corridors were all they had seen. If it weren't for the few treasure chests they had found, they would have attempted to leave. Though, the chests only seemed to have Scari crystals and other similar items of little worth. It wasn't until they reached an open room, being several square feet, much larger than any corridor. It seemed like a big, empty room, though, with nothing but sand.

The three stood for a moment, staring at the room blankly. They couldn't believe how dull the pyramid was. But still, they continued with faint hopes of finding something. The three explored, finding the room to be empty, the only thing catching interest being a few strange markings upon the walls. Lia, who had discovered them, called the others over. Gavin studied the markings as Maxwell and Lia watched. They looked like little pictures as far as they could tell, and below them looked to be pictures of animals, made of stone. After several long moments, Gavin nodded and spoke aloud.

"The strongest shall survive." He said. "It's supposed to be some key to the pyramid."

"What?" Lia was obviously confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It could mean anything." Gavin said. "But we apparently have to take these valuable talismans."

"… What Talismans?" Maxwell said. "All I see is rock."

"They could have been valuable to another civilization." Gavin said as he pulled the rock pictures from the wall, looking at them. "Or eroded… It seems that these talismans have gathered a layer of sediment over the years."

"Eroded?"

"It means that they sort of grew a layer of rock over them." Gavin informed the two teens. "It can be dissolved away in a specific substance, harmful to human hands."

As the three turned to walk away, grains of sand fell from the roof. This catching their attention, they stopped and looked up towards the ceiling. It was far too dark to see anything but the black expanse of shadow blanketing the ceiling. Gavin took a few more steps forwards, curiously looking around. Maxwell and Lia stayed where they were, very cautious to what could have caused the ceiling to leak sand. Something had to be moving up there, they knew it. For several seconds they stood quietly until Gavin turned to the two Air Pirates with a shrug, dismissing it as nothing. He then turned away, his torch light flickering as he made his way towards the other end of the room to continue onwards. The two Air Pirates shrugged and took another step forwards. Suddenly, the entrance and exit to the room closed off, large stone slabs falling in the way by some sort of mechanism. The three stopped in surprise and fright, just before the whole room shook, like the entire thing had been jerked to the side.

"What is this…?" Gavin asked as he looked around warily.

A large object then fell from the roof. It was too quick to realize what it was until it fell onto Gavin's back, making awkward screeching noises. Gavin, in a panic, moved his arms back to rip whatever the creature was off his back, only succeeding in throwing the torch he held away, causing it to hit the sandy floor with a dull thud, and flicker out, embracing nothing but darkness. Lia let out a gasp, her hand quickly seeking Maxwell, her blind fingers clutching his shoulder tightly. The two Air Pirates could hear Gavin wrestling with the creature for a moment, and then a dull, but loud thud upon the ground. There was silence for a moment, Gavin's panting heard all around the room before torches began to ignite themselves around the room, one by one. They lined the walls and flickered dully, casting the dark room with a deep orange hue. With this new sight, Gavin could be seen, sword ready, facing off against a monstrous beetle creature, about the size of a small dog.

More soon fell to the ceiling. Three more of the beetle-like creatures fell from the ceiling, hitting their backs upon the sand. Their little legs flailed quickly as they struggled to turn over, their hidden wings twitching in the natural insect manner. Maxwell and Lia readied their weapons as well, the crimson red insects stalking the three humans. They quickly lifted off the ground, a heavy buzzing heard as they flew and circled them, landing again once the three were surrounded. The three quickly huddled together, Maxwell taking the talismans and pocketing them for safe keeping. The bugs continued to stare them down cautiously as they stood, staring right back at them.

"Looks like these guys are trying to take us out." Maxwell said.

"Well, if we're going, were going kicking and screaming, right?" Gavin asked.

"It's going to be so hard fighting in this outfit!" Lia complained.

"I thought you liked a challenge." Maxwell said.

"Well, yeah, most of the time!" Lia shouted at him, looking back.

"Well, bring it on." Gavin grinned. "These things shouldn't be too tough."

The four beetles soon lifted from the ground again and flew straight at the three humans. Maxwell and Lia dodged to either side, Gavin merely ducking. The four insects criss-crossed, flying a few feet and stopping, turning to rear at them again. Maxwell ran at the one nearest him and slashed at it, but it easily dodged the attack, being fairly quick. Gavin was confronted by two of the hell-spawned bugs, and the cocky treasure hunter took the challenge willingly. They tried to attack him, trying to latch with their pincers that lied before their mouths. He nimbly dodged one, but the other one latched to his arm and bit down. The pain was like a sharp, lingering pinch. He cried out and beat it away, rearing back and lunging forth. His sword pierced right through it, killing it instantly, its dead carcass landing on the sandy floor. He turned immediately on the next; smirking confidently as the two teenage Air Pirates continued fighting.

Lia was doing fairly well, able to gain some space as the beetles broke off to leave her be. She was only faced with one, and it was simple to take it out with her whip. She easily whipped its head, first, making it fall back to the ground, where she whipped it again, producing a large gash inside its exoskeleton. It's yellowish blood flood openly, and she left it be to die, its leg twitching and shaking. Maxwell had a harder time, being a little too slow to attack the beetle successfully. He would lunge at it, and it would barely move aside, or above him, getting away without a scratch. It would simply fly around behind him, where he would attempt again, only to miss. This frustrated him, and he continued to struggle with the insect just as Gavin finished killing off his second. The beetle went on the offensive then, flying towards Maxwell, hitting him in the face with all its weight, and taking him off his feet and onto the ground. He shook his head to regain himself as he looked up, seeing the bug swooping down at him. He quickly brought up his blade then, stabbing it in a frantic action of self-defense. It was impaled, and soon fell to the sand and lay dead, little legs twitching about.

"Whew…" Maxwell sighed. "What the heck was that?"

"Monsters." Gavin said. "They must have lived here, and we just waltzed on in."

"Well, lets see the talismans now, Gavin." Lia said. Gavin took the three talismans out of his pocket and showed them to the girl. "Hmm, I can't tell what they look like."

"We'll have to burn off the sediment sometime." Gavin said as he moved over to pick up the burnt out torch, going over to one of the torches on the wall to relight it. "We should keep moving. I want to find that treasure."

With a small moment of hesitation, the two teens wondered just what they were getting into. But the Air Pirates thought that if monsters guarded this treasure, then it had to be good. With that in mind, they followed Gavin and his light along another narrow passageway that led into a small square room with a kind of coffin in it. They eyed the coffin, and Maxwell slapped Lia's hand away when she tried to open it to see what was inside. Quietly, they continued on, going further and further into the depths of the sands. It got hotter as they went, and soon, the three of them were sweating slightly. Lia sighed; even in her skimpy outfit she was hot. Gavin continued on before he pushed open a door, stopping to stare in wonder at what was before him. A room full of treasure lied before them, and their eyes lit up.

"Wow…" Lia spoke out loud.

"Look at all this." Maxwell said.

Gold coins were piled high, and valuable jewels were littered about. Gavin and Lia ran right in, eagerly eying all of the treasure, scooping out what they could take. Maxwell just walked in, looking about curiously. As excited as he was about the treasure, he was also interested in the useful items littered about. He found Scari Crystals, and Magic Drops, and a couple of other useful items for traveling. He looked over at the other two just going wild in all of the treasure and sighed. He took a handful of the gold coins and slipped them into his pocket. Gavin pocketed as much as he could, while Lia couldn't take anything, since she had nowhere to keep any of it. They all met up again and looked about, wondering if perhaps this was the treasure that Gavin had heard about.

"Nobody was really specific…" Gavin said. "But this looks like something someone would know about."

"Hmm…" Lia looked around before spotting some symbols on the wall. "Gavin? What are those?"

Gavin looked over at the symbols with a keen interest. He walked over to them and rested his hand against the wall they were written on. He rubbed his chin as he examined the symbols curiously. Maxwell and Lia watched the treasure hunter as he studied the symbols, a grin forming on his lips.

"Well, beautiful, I think you just stumbled onto something." Gavin said. "These are hieroglyphics. They're pictures that were used as writing back in ancient times."

"Writing? You mean back before the first time the Rains were released?" Maxwell asked.

"That's right." Gavin answered. "You do like your legends. There are three slots here, and if I'm not mistaken, this reads, 'the strongest will survive. Everything is destroyed until there is one almighty being. Place what will be destroyed and when here, and test yourself…' Seems pretty ominous to me. There are three slots here… I'm not sure what to do."

"Me either." Lia sighed. "Maybe there's a clue around here somewhere?"

"Well, file out and look you two. I'll stay here and try to figure this out." Gavin grinned. "Get to it!"

Lia moved away slowly, looking about the room, hands on her hips. Maxwell looked around as well, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't know where to even begin looking for clues. He wasn't accustomed to looking at things in close detail. The piles of treasure in the room didn't make it any easier on him. The gold and jewels were constantly distracting him. His mind worked overtime as to figure out what to do. Soon he just got bored. He wasn't finding anything, and Lia was simply getting frustrated with the lack of anything to find. Maxwell picked out one stray coin and kicked it with his leather sandals where his eyes, hidden by the goggles, would watch it slide across the stone floor and stop or hit a wall. He kicked this coin about, the sound of metal sliding over stone filling the room. It didn't seem to bother anyone, so he kept doing it. He made it a sort of act, something to do while he pondered, by folding his hands behind his back and walking in a way that made his legs seem stiff. He kicked his legs out as he moved, as if he were mocking a tow soldier with his legs movements.

This is when he noticed something. While watching the coin slide over the floor, it slid through a little stream of liquid that looked to be spilled on the floor. This made him curious. He thought maybe it was water, that maybe he was so far underground that water was hidden in some sort of small pocket in the sand. He walked over to the liquid and knelt down to see what it was. Once he put his fingers to it though, a hot burning came to his skin. He jerked his hand away, sucking in air through clenched teeth, making a hissing noise. He shook his hand out and followed the streaming liquid to a pile of gold. He stood then and moved over to the pile, kicking it. The coin pile fell, collapsing towards Maxwell's feet. Gold coins sat at his feet as he looked beyond the would-be pile to see a strange sculpture.

"I think I found it Gavin!" The teenage Air Pirate called, drawing the attention of the treasure hunter, and the other Air Pirate.

A strange bowl was carved into the wall. The burning liquid seemed to flow steadily into it, and leak out the rim, down the bowl and the wall, onto the floor, and stream out in several directions. It flowed from an apparatus in the ceiling. It looked as if pipes were constructed to lead this natural, oily acid to that place. There also seemed to be a closed drainage chute in the bottom of the bowl, to drain the harmful substance later. Gavin pushed Maxwell aside and rushed to the bowl, looking at it. He searched the bowl's surface carefully, finding a small lever that when operated, pulled the bottom from the bowl, and it was drained through what looked like a metal grate. Gavin chuckled at this.

"You're right, Maxy, you found it." Gavin said, taking out one of the rock talismans. "You found the acid-like substance that's supposed to dissolve this sediment away."

One by one, Gavin took the talismans, set them in the bowl, plugged the drain cute, and let it fill up. The acid would pool in the bowl as Maxwell and Lia watched. After a few seconds, Gavin would drain the bowl, and take out what looked to be a brand new talisman. Soon, the three talismans were once again made of a metal material, and jewels for the pictures. There was one of a sapphire frog, another with an emerald snake, and the last bore a ruby hawk. These were animals that weren't seen for ages, even Maxwell and Lia could tell as much just by looking at them. Gavin was the only one who could call them by name. Lia took the talismans, wanting to sell them; it would have been a great opportunity to get money. But as she passed by the slots in the wall, she stopped. She eyed their shape curiously, and then looked at the talismans. They were similar. At this realization, she began to place them in different slots. They fit right in, and came right out. She tried all sorts of combinations as Gavin and Maxwell watched. Soon, she placed them in a certain order, and they began to glow. Startled, they all stepped back as the wall began to vibrate and move. It disappeared up into the ceiling, a square-shaped door leading into another room.

"What'd you do?" Maxwell asked, still somewhat surprised.

"I put the talismans in the wall, they fit right in!" Lia explained, crossing her arms under her bosoms as she turned to the two men. "I tried patterns. It looks like frog, snake, and hawk worked from left to right."

"Must have been a food chain…" Gavin spoke as he thought.

"Food chain?" Maxwell was still confused.

"All ecosystems have a food chain." Gavin explained. "One animal eats another, and that animal gets eaten by another, and so on. It goes like that until there is one animal that can't be eaten. At this day in age, with all these monsters appearing, it's hard to tell who's at the top of the food chain anymore."

"Eco-what…?" Maxwell just looked from Gavin to Lia and back again in a confused manner.

"Never mind Maxy." Lia chimed in as she turned on her ankles towards the dark room before them. "If this was hidden beyond a room full of gold, this treasure here must be HUGE! We have to go take a look. Come on!"


	4. Chapter 4

"It's kinda dark in here…" Lia said as she, Maxwell, and Gavin walked into a large room.

"Yeah, you're right. I can barely see a thing." Maxwell agreed.

As they moved, torches began to suddenly light up along the walls of the room. Pillars lined the room, some five feet from the walls of the rectangular shaped room. The roof could not be seen, once again shrouded in darkness that the torchlight could not tread. Light sand, painted orange by the torches' glow covered the floor. A decorative boarder lined the lower-most parts of the wall, some of it being covered by the mini-plateau created by the sands lining the floor. The further the group walked, more torches would light, two-by-two. Soon, they had wandered all the way to the opposing side of the room. A lone doorway rested there, opening into a room that contained an object on a sort of pedestal. The three of them gazed in on this object for only a moment before the door came shut quite suddenly. A large stone slab of a door blacked the entrance.

The floor began to rumble slightly. They all turned to look back, as the sand in the center of the room began to shift. It seemed as if a large object had begun to surface. The rising mound of sand parted, the grains of sand running off the top of this object, as if its surface was circular. Slowly, a strange object began to emerge. It looked to be a hard object, solid as a rock at least. Gavin dropped his torch as more of the object was revealed. It seemed that a few feet in front of the object which appeared to be a shell, a large pole… or rather, a horn was surfacing, it was several feet high, and very large. Slowly, more and more of the thing was revealed, until it was in complete sight, and the ground stopped rumbling. It took the form of a giant insect, much like a beetle. Its head almost looked like a helmet, with a giant horn protruding from the top center. It looked to be the size of a wood shack – maybe larger. The large beetle-like monster certainly startled the group.

It dawned only two eyes beneath its helmet-like exoskeleton, clearly on the area of its head. Beyond that it had only a body, a few feet taller than the three humans. Its body was covered in a thick shell, six legs carrying its form. Its shell was orange in the torchlight, but due to the dark shade, one could assume it was a darker colour, such as blue or green. Its eyes were like two black, beady orbs that glittered in the light. Its most dangerous feature, though, were the giant pincers that jut out before its 'face.' It snapped its pincers, like two giant blades of a pair of scissors, and let out a loud screeching noise that made the humans wince.

"What **IS** that thing!" Lia exclaimed.

"I don't know, but it's coming this way!" Maxwell stated, drawing his green moonstone blade.

"Watch out!" Gavin shouted as the monster rushed towards them. Its legs made scratching sounds against the sand, and it moved unnaturally fast over the grainy floor. The three treasure hunters had to jump out of the way as it rushed at them. It rammed head first into a wall, probably as fast as an airship… or faster! Gavin rolled on the ground, his sunglasses sliding off. He rolled into a crouching position, drawing his blade from the scabbard on his back. Maxwell tumbled as well, rolling and standing up quickly, wile Lia just hit the sandy floor, getting up slowly and brushing herself off as the giant beetle lashed around to face them again. It reared back for another charge, taking towards the two teens on the left side of the room with that same, astounding speed. Maxwell was ready, rushing towards Lia to push her out of the way. They barely managed to avoid the monster as it ran past, bashing into one of the thick columns lining the room. The force managed to put cracks in the stone – which was as thick as an old oak tree.

Gavin quickly turned his sword so that he was still holding it by the handle, though the blade was facing downwards. He held the blade out from his body, as if using the small red moonstone on the hilt as an aimer. The moonstone began to glow a bright orange, and as Gavin aimed at the monster, bright orange flashes, something like balls of fire, began to shoot from the end. Just as the first one hit the monster, it let out a loud screech, being hit in the side of the head. It took off again, weaving its way through the pillars, going left to right, turning and running as fast as it could, making it difficult for Gavin to continue to hit it. He tried though, running about the room to try and get a clear shot at it. He would stop occasionally, to fire another ball of fire from the hilt of his sword. Occasionally he would hit it, making it release another loud screech, or he would barely miss.

Maxwell and Lia were at a loss. Long-range combat seemed to be the only alternative against this monstrosity, and with Maxwell having a Swashbuckler's blade, and Lia having only a whip, it didn't seem like they could have done anything. But that didn't stop them from trying. The monster was a threat, and it had to be stopped. Maxwell and Lia took off in different directions. Maxwell tried to run and intercept the monster, but he only stumbled back to avoid being trampled over, and then had to duck as fireballs whizzed past his head. The giant beetle was on a rampage, and it turned towards Maxwell, rushing towards him. Maxwell gasped and tried to defend himself before the stampede of insect legs came upon him. Its head hit him at first, sending him to the ground to be tramped over by several large legs. Maxwell was rattled, lying upon the sandy floor, taking a moment to realize just what hit him, and how much pain he was in. Gavin rushed to him and helped him up, still firing at the monster.

"You alright, kid?" Gavin asked in a hurry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Maxwell groaned.

The monster stopped, turning towards the two males then. He was preparing to strike. Gavin noticed this, and knowing that it had him and Maxwell in its sights, he didn't see any way of avoiding the attack. Gavin let Maxwell go and stood before him, blade raised to strike back at the thing should it have decided to charge. It let out a large screech, ready to charge. But then something stuck it in the head. Its head jerked a bit, and it looked to the side to see Lia, whipping at it to draw its attention away. The whip cracked against its head once again, making it turned towards the young woman and charge instead.

"Leave them alone you big – Uh oh!" Lia shouted as the thing began to charge at her.

Lia acted with haste. She more than likely did not know what she was doing until it was too late. She turned to see a pillar behind her. With no time to worry, she ran at it, placing her feet upon it and running up it slightly before pushing off in a leap. She flipped back in the air, whip following her movements. She then landed as the giant beetle rammed its head into the pillar, the same pillar as before, sending more cracks into it. Though what Lia didn't expect, was to land **on** the monster's head. She shrieked as it began to move beneath her feet, making her wrap her arms around the horn on its head in order to stay on. It thrashed and flailed its head, Lia barely holding on as her body was sent this way and that. Her ship was dropped with a dull thud into the sand as the beetle took off again, flailing its head about to try and throw Lia off.

"Max!" Lia shouted, stomping her foot into the monster's eye, releasing another loud shriek from its own vocals. "Help me!"

"Hang on!" Gavin shouted back as he let Maxwell go and continued his pursuit.

Gavin ran to get into a decent position, raising his sword hilt again in order to fire at the monster. He had a perfect shot at its head, but before he could fire, he felt a stinging pain shoot through his arm. He yelled out in pain, his shot being taken away, only to find another of the smaller kind of beetles with the red shells, had latched onto his arm via its pincers, and was cutting into his forearm. The treasure hunter grit his teeth and shook his arm frantically, trying to throw it off. At last, he punched it with his other arm, cutting his flesh as it slid off and fell to the floor. It quickly regained itself and rushed at Gavin, making the man dive out of the way, landing on his shoulder. He was holding his forearm securely with his free hand, blood oozing down the length of his arm. He rolled over and got to his feet, cursing his luck.

Maxwell noticed that Gavin was busy, and had to think fast. He tilted his goggles up to rest on his forehead as he flicked his eyes from Lia, who was calling for his help, to Gavin, who was too busy to help. Somewhere between that, he caught sight of Lia's whip. An idea popped into his mind. It was a farfetched idea, a one-shot deal, but it was all he had. He ran quickly, diving to avoid the loud stomping of the beetle, picking up Lia's whip and tumbling forwards. He stood up slowly then, holding Lia's whip in his hand. He sheathed his sword again and waited. When the beetle began to trample past him again, he lashed out the whip. Of course, his skill with it wasn't quite as good as Lia was, but he managed to wrap the tip around the horn on the monster's head. He grinned triumphantly, but his arms were suddenly jerked forwards, and he was taken off his feet, dragging along the floor. Sand rushed up into his face unfortunately, giving him a hard time concentrating. Though, with eyes closed and head turned, he began to pull himself up the whip, climbing it like a rope.

"Lia!" He shouted as he climbed onto its back.

"Maxy!" Lia smiled as she saw him.

"Lia, you'll have to jump off of this thing!" Maxwell shouted to her over the noise, standing up slowly, using the whip to try and keep balance.

"Jump? Are you crazy!" Lia shouted back.

"Trust me!" Maxwell shouted, blinking as he noticed the giant beetle was rushing towards Gavin, who was too busy trying to defend himself in order to get out of the way.

"Now!" Maxwell exclaimed. Lia did as he asked, leaping off the beetle and tumbling on the ground. She stood up to watch Maxwell then. Maxwell was a little worried. He gripped the whip tightly and pulled to the side quite harshly. The giant beetle screeched and tilted its head. Like a sores, its body followed, sending it head first into that same pillar as before. Its entire surface became riddled with cracks, and Maxwell had just barely noticed this, uncoiling the whip in a hurry and leaping off the monster. The pillar began to crumble, large chunks of stone falling from it. The entire pillar came down in pieces, landing on the beetle. The force picked up a lot of dust, blinding the three of them. When the dust cleared, the beetle was buried under rubble, its leg twitching. It was undoubtedly dead. Maxwell grinned to himself as Lia ran over to him, hugging him around the neck firmly in glee.

"Yeah! You did it, Maxy!" She proclaimed with joy, snatching her whip back. "Thanks for saving me, Mr. Hero."

"Aw it was nothing." Maxwell smiled brightly, rubbing the back of his head.

"And stay down!" Gavin shouted as he sheathed his blade again. "How agitating."

"Gavin, your arm is bleeding." Lia pointed out as she looked to him.

"Ah don't worry about it." Gavin smiled, looking around the floor until he found his sunglasses. He picked them up, dusted them off good, and then put them on again. "You guys okay?"

"We're okay." Maxwell nodded.

Just then, the door that had slammed shut suddenly opened again, revealing that same object.

"Whoa. Heh. It must have been guarding that treasure." Gavin grinned as he walked into the room. "Here treasure"

Following Gavin, the two Air Pirates walked into the dark room. The only thing lit was a lone pedestal in the middle of the room. A hole in the ceiling seemed to bring in sunlight from the outside in a sort of spotlight. On the pedestal was an awkward-looking object. It was a cube that hovered above the surface of the pedestal for a couple of inches. The cube was a translucent teal colour, with strange marking etched into its surface that seemed to flow with its own light. Gavin moved to it and examined it, the two Air Pirates seemingly taken back by it. They hardly knew what it was… In fact, none of them had the slightest clue. Gavin picked it up and studied it further. It seemed that when he held the cube, it did not float. It was as large as his hand, and he was fascinated by it.

"Gavin, what is that?" Maxwell asked.

"I'm not sure." Gavin responded, turning to them. "But it looks like its valuable. Some sort of weird technology or something."

Gavin threw it up to catch it again, but as he threw it up… it didn't come down. The three of them watched as the cube floated weightlessly up, hitting the ceiling and bouncing off. Slowly, the now spinning cube floated until it hit the wall. It bounced off the wall towards the floor. Then it bounced off the floor towards the ceiling again. Lia reached out and snatched it into both of her hands, staring at it in disbelief.

"Did you see that?" She asked. "It floated, like when a Moonstone fuels a boat… But this isn't a Moonstone."

"Hm… you're right. But it must manipulate Moonstones somehow…" Gavin walked over to her and took it. "It doesn't seem to run on fuel from a Moonstone… It's very strange."

"I don't know." Maxwell said as he took it. "It looks pretty small… I don't think it would be useful for anything."

"Let's keep it just in case." Gavin suggested. "If it is a treasure, we could sell it for thousands!"

"We could be rich!" Lia said, smiling brightly to Maxwell. "We could have anything we want!"

"Alright." Maxwell nodded as he pocketed the cube. "Let's get out of here, we can talk more on the ship."

Getting back out of the pyramid was just as difficult as getting inside. The twists and turns of the corridors confused the treasure hunters. They seemed to be far under the ground as well, as nearly their entire trip was uphill. It was far more tiring than getting inside. But eventually, they made it outside, greeted by bright sunlight. They hadn't known how long they were inside, but it seemed as if they'd been in all night. Maxwell and Lia shielded their eyes, while Gavin was fine thanks to his sunglasses. Unfortunately, it seemed that the men had been awake for some time, and knew they had gone down below. It was a nasty surprise to Gavin, Maxwell, and Lia to see them waiting. One man approached them alone, which seemed rather bold of him.

"You were ordered not to enter the pyramid before the rest of the men…" He said, his voice seeming quite stern and full of cold emotion.

"Uhh… Well…" Maxwell thought, trying to think of a response, while Lia and Gavin were both stumped.

"What did you find?" He asked.

"Nothing." Maxwell shot back quickly.

"Nothing at all!" Lia added.

"Absolutely, positively, indubitably nothing." Gavin added again.

The man looked cold, and emotionless, and very serious. He had mild-length brown hair, his bangs only slightly over his brown eyes. He seemed to be fit, but it was hard to tell with his pale-skinned body was hidden beneath a purple coat that was buttoned up the middle, its collar folded down, lined with gray, having a gray interior shown by his folded-back cuffs. Resting on a slant on his hips was a belt that held a pair of goggles on his left side, and a sword scabbard on his right. His legs were covered in white pants, and on his feet he wore brown boots that came up to just under his knees. He was only slightly taller than Maxwell, and probably weighed in only slightly more. Within his scabbard shined a golden handle to a concealed blade.

"… Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Search them…" The man said, three men from the camp hurrying to them and beginning to search them.

"Watch the hands, pal." Gavin grumbled.

"Don't touch me there!" Lia scolded during her search, smacking the man's hand away.

"Sir, I found something." One of the men said, catching the man in the purple coat's interest. He walked over to Maxwell and reached into his pocket, grasping the strange cube and pulling it out.

"… This is what we came for." The man in the purple coat said.

"Well we took it fair and square!" Maxwell responded, snatching the cube back and pushing the man who had searched him over. Lia and Gavin did the same. Maxwell then drew his blade, pocketing the cube he held yet again.

"… That is an important artifact. Give it back!" The man demanded.

"And we should care why? As far as we're concerned, it's worth gold. Air Pirates never give up the chance to get gold." Maxwell smirked, menacingly pointing his blade towards the man's throat.

"… If it's a fight you want…" The man stepped back, drawing his own blade slowly. "… I ought to get paid extra for this."

"Stay back!" Maxwell warned as the man drew closer.

Nobody knew where it came from, but a sort of laser came from nowhere, striking the ground at the man in the purple coat's feet. He stepped back cautiously, and all eyes were drawn towards a sand dune in the distance. There, slightly masked by the rippling heat waves from the sand, stood a figure. A slight breeze picked up, making his long white hair blow in the wind gently. Maxwell recognized him as the man he'd seen at his home village when it was attacked. His right eye gazed from the distance, his long back vest swayed in the wind as well, his scarred chest was visible, his pale bright under the desert sun. The man in the purple coat glared at him, gritting his teeth. Forgetting Maxwell for a moment, he ordered his men to get the white-haired man.

The man ran at him, all of them at once. There was a good eighteen of them in all, against one man. The man said nothing, and stood still as a stone as the men, all with swords, rushed him. Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin surveyed the odds, and they were definitely not in the man's favor. Gavin acted quickly to make a distraction, drawing his blade quietly while the man in the purple coat was distracted. He turned it upside-down, holding it towards the man in the purple coat. Maxwell grinned and stepped aside, out of the man's line of sight before Gavin shot a small bullet of fire. Like a bad ember, it caught to the man's coat, and set it aflame. The man began to panic, and most of his men catching this and turning to go help. Maxwell, Gavin and Lia took off then, as fast as their legs could carry them towards one of the Dhabu. They quickly untied it and Gavin quickly helped Maxwell and Lia onto it. Gavin himself climbed on the back, and Maxwell took the reins and turned the Dhabu towards Maramba, and took off over the sand. Of course, the Dhabu didn't run… It was a lazy animal. But it was still quicker than human feet.

"Damn." The man in the purple coat muttered as he threw off his coat, revealing he was wearing a black, short-sleeved undershirt. "Leave him alone, go fetch the airship."

The man who used to wear the purple coat gazed towards the white-haired man just as he finished off the last of the four men that had tried to take care of him. He sighed, the other fifteen running towards the airship they had brought to the site in case they needed it. As the man who used to wear the purple coat watched, the white man turned away, raising one hand in a little two-fingered wave, mostly hidden behind his silver katar. He soon disappeared out of sight over the sands.

"Hmph." The man who used to where the purple coat quietly scoffed. "We'll get it…"

He turned away towards the airship then, walking towards it, his arms still crossed.

"There'll be no rest for those Air Pirates."

It was a long journey back to Maramba. The Dhabu moved slowly, and it was scorching. Lia slumped against Maxwell and sighed heavily, reaching back to take her hair out of its braid. While she worked, Gavin was deep in thought. Maxwell didn't know what to say or do. He dismissed the strange cube he held simply as a treasure. But now someone wanted it, and it seemed pretty important. Nobody had ever seen it before… And why did that strange man help him? Maybe it was to return the favor, he thought. Still, it was quite strange. Lia complained about the heat, as her long hair was free to sway in the wind gently. Gavin was silent for a long moment before he blinked in realization.

"Lone Wolf…" He muttered.

"What was that?" Maxwell looked back at Gavin.

"Lone Wolf Lawrence…" Gavin spoke.

"Who's that?" Lia asked, looking back as well.

"That man we saw before, his name is Lawrence." Gavin explained. "He earned the name 'Lone Wolf Lawrence' because he is a mercenary, who will take any job as long as it pays well. But he's also famous because he was part of Vyse The Legend's crew… He helped save the world on the Delphinus. Little is known about him, but I heard that there's no job he's ever failed…"

"What!" Maxwell and Lia exclaimed at the same time.

"But… we don't want someone like that not to like us!" Lia said.

"I know, but it seems that we're doing something that gets in his way." Gavin said. "And he'll do anything to get this little cube."

"Well… should we just give it to him then?" Lia asked.

"No way!" Maxwell said. "As I said, we stole it fair and square, and who knows? This thing could be something that's useful to us. And who knows what he wants it for? Unless he tells us what he needs it for, it's ours. And even if he tells us, and it's something we don't like, I'm keeping it anyways."

"Heh, good idea." Gavin said.

"That's my Maxy." Lia giggled. "Good thinking."


	5. Chapter 5

On the way back to Maramba, Maxwell caught sight of the strangest Airship. It was painted black, and was made completely out of metal. It had purple stripes around the centre of the outside plating, and was decorated with golden wolves on the port and starboard sides, near the bow. It was a fairly small ship, flying at a fair altitude over-head. It was obviously created for speed, and perhaps a little intimidation. The wolves were a dead give-away to who owned the ship – Lone Wolf Lawrence. This black airship gave Maxwell a bad feeling. Judging by its direction, it was also heading towards Maramba, at a far greater speed then Maxwell's Dhabu was traveling. All conclusions were directed to something bleak, and not on Maxwell's winning side. All he and his companions could do was sit and hope for the best until the Dhabu reached Maramba safely – it wasn't about to go any quicker.

It took over an hour to get back to Maramba using the slow Dhabu, but at long last, the two Air Pirates and the Treasure Hunter managed to make it back. They got well within the city limits before they hopped off the Dhabu. The streets were quiet, very quiet. The three of them were baffled, where did everyone go? Confused, they wandered towards Gavin's house, but stopped suddenly as Taylor and Chelle rushing towards them. Both of them appeared to be in a state of shock. Gavin tilted his head curiously with a little grin as they approached.

"Where's the fire?" Gavin asked. "You'll never guess what we found…"

"Gavin! It's an emergency!" Chelle stated in a tone of disbelief.

"Hm? What is it?" Gavin's expression turned very serious.

"Sarine… And Nola… They're…" She was so surprised; she didn't know where to begin.

"Mom? Nola?" Gavin blinked. "What happened to them?"

"They're… gone." Chelle sighed.

"Gone!" Gavin was shocked. "What do you mean 'gone!'"

"They were kidnapped." Chelle responded hastily.

"What!" Gavin looked towards his house. Several people were gathered there. Without thinking, he dashed off towards his house, Chelle, Taylor, Maxwell and Lia following close behind.

The whole town seemed to be gathered around the small house. Gavin shoved his way through the crowds and past the town guards in order to see what happened. He paused for a moment when he saw that the door had been bashed in, and broken. The windows were smashed as well. He hurried inside, stopping as he entered. He paused there, gazing at how his two-room home had become a wreck. It was apparent that a struggle ensued. The table was smashed in half, the pillows used for chairs scattered all over. The cooking pot was tipped over, wet stains left on the brightly coloured carpets. The one bookshelf had been all disorganized, books scattered everywhere and the whole shelf tipped over. Gavin walked in further, glancing about in shock, looking in towards the bedrooms, where the sheets were torn off the beds, and Nola's outfits were scattered about. He fell to his knees in the center of the main room, his shoulders slumping. His four companions piled into the small house shortly after.

"Who'd do this…?" Gavin asked.

"Gavin, it's alright." Chelle moved closer to him. "The town guards will find them."

"Why would someone do this…?" Gavin asked again. "They never did anyone any harm."

The town guards searched the place thoroughly before any of them were allowed to touch anything. All that was found was a note on the bed. While everyone was cleaning up, Gavin couldn't get over the note. He read it over and over, and was gradually getting more and more frustrated. It was from Lawrence. The note instructed Gavin and his friends to bring the cube they had found in the _Inculta Pyramid_ to a specific small island which had its coordinates written on the bottom. If he gave them the cube, they agreed to return his mother and sister with no harm… or at least, it was said that they would receive no harm – not promised. Gavin just shook his head. Bringing his family into the whole mess just seemed irrelevant and stupid to him. But, he was forced to make a decision. He had to choose whether to give them the cube tomorrow, or let his family suffer. It was obvious what choice he made.

Sleeping that night never happened for Gavin, and Lia, Maxwell and Taylor had great difficulty getting to sleep. Gavin was up all night, simply sitting outside in the cold desert streets. He would pace back and forth occasionally, but he never rested. He was angry, and worried. There was absolutely no way he was going to sleep any time that night with the thoughts of his family on his mind. Gavin finally gave in to sleep as the moon was creeping down to rest beneath the sand dunes. He had fallen asleep in the main room, on a pillow. Maxwell and Lia awoke the next morning to find him there, still sleeping. Even if they didn't want to, they had to wake him up and get to his ship. Gavin never hesitated as he woke up, ate a small breakfast, changed into his normal clothes and took off to his ship, Maxwell, Taylor and Lia following in close behind after changing their clothes as well.

"Okay Max, the coordinates to the island are here. Pin-point it on the map." Gavin instructed as he met the two Air Pirates and the young Taylor on the deck of his ship. "Little Miss, kid, I want you two to work down below. Man the cannons if you have to, be on full alert. I'm not taking any chances."

"Aye aye, captain!" They said as they hurried to perform their duties.

"They'll pay." Gavin muttered to himself as he went to head towards the bridge. A voice stopped him.

"Hey!"

Gavin blinked and looked over. The voice came from beside his ship. He walked over, resting his hands on the edge to look down. He was surprised when he spotted Chelle, but she was certainly not ready to dance. He raised an eyebrow as he looked over her outfit. She wore a low-cut, black leather tank top that held snugly to her skin, accentuating her graceful form and showed off her slim midriff, and blue jeans that had fades white on the knees, almost like bleach stains. Knee-high, thick brown leather boots were on her feet with a low heel, and various buckles to keep them on. Brown Dhabu hide gloves completed her outfit, along with a black headband, and a red tri-corner hat normally worn by old-fashioned pirates. On her belt were a gun holster, holding a flintlock moonstone ammo pistol at one side, and on the other, and a scabbard for a red moonstone rapier. She stood, one hand on her hip, bronze-tanned skin gleaming in the sunlight, deep amber eyes glancing up at Gavin. Her long red hair reached to her butt, curling outward in some places, her bangs only slightly coming over the black headband she wore. The outfit she had was fairly cheesy in Gavin's opinion… But with her skin oiled up like that (despite the scars showing on her left breast and over her left eye) she certainly did not look bad.

"Wow." Gavin raised both his eyebrows. "Costume party going on?"

"I want to come help!" Chelle called up.

"Are you yanking my chain? Sure you can even fight?" Gavin laughed. "I thought you were only good at dancing."

"You have a lot to learn about women!" Chelle called back up. "Be a gentleman and help me up!"

"A lot to learn, my foot." Gavin mumbled as he went out to help Chelle into the ship. "I could write an entire **book** on women."

With all, save Taylor, well armed, the ship preparations complete, and everyone ready to go, there was nothing stopping them from taking off. Gavin took the wheel and did just that. The coordinates showed that Gavin had to go to a small island near Vulua. He knew he had to be careful, as the Vuluans had patrols. If one saw him, and they asked him what he was doing in Vulua airspace, he didn't want to have to explain his situation. Vulua wouldn't have bought it. Even after Vyse the Legend saved Arcadia from disaster, Nasr and Vulua still weren't on the best of terms. It wasn't even Vulua's fault, in most people's eyes. They had been doing all they could to rebuild their economy, and make peace with the surrounding lands. Yafutoma was understanding of Vulua's situation, and South Ocean simply wanted to move on, and forgave the Vuluan's. But Nasr's Nasultan was arrogant, and refused, blatantly to side with or make peace with the Vuluan's. But, each had their arguments, and each had their points. Solving the Nasr-Vulua situation still seemed like a distant dream.

As so, Gavin's gold and red painted ship was something that Vuluan's were on the lookout for. The Vuluan's made it very clear that no Nasr ships were permitted to enter the North Ocean airspace without some sort of Vuluan permit, a special pass made for Nasr merchants or other vessels to show that they had gone under extensive investigation and background checks to be permitted to trade their goods. Any ship caught in North Ocean airspace without one was to be charged and fined, or perhaps even worse. Gavin ran at full speed, not wanting to waste time.

"So what can I do?" Chelle asked, "I want to be useful."

"Well, find a way." Gavin responded. He was a little stressed. "Help Taylor clean if you want."

"I have a better idea." Chelle stated, with a hint of a blush as she moved close to Gavin. "Why don't I liven your spirits for the upcoming danger?"

Gavin didn't respond.

"I'll comfort you, captain." She said again, moving to hug him.

"Get off." Gavin shoved her aside. "There's no reason for you to yank my chain like that. Get lost and make yourself useful somewhere you'll be appreciated. In other words, out of my sight."

Chelle looked hurt. She had never heard Gavin say anything so harsh in all her life. She should have understood that Gavin was simply worried and stressed over the current ordeal, but she didn't She was hurt, and she left in quite a rut, storming off. Maxwell was standing at the table behind the bridge controls, staring at Gavin in a sort of bewildered kind of way, plainly shocked. Gavin looked back, jerking his head to do so. He raised an eyebrow, his left, gloved hand holding tightly to the wheel. Maxwell didn't say a thing.

"What are you staring at?" Gavin shot at the young Air Pirate.

"Nothing." Maxwell responded, looking back to the map.

"Ugh, nothing else could possibly go wrong." Gavin grunted. "What else could **possibly** go wrong?"

Suddenly, Gavin heard a voice ring out in echoes over the clouds.

"Nasr vessel, you have been caught in North Ocean airspace. By the law, I ask that you power down your engines and come to a stop. We are the Vuluan patrol, I repeat, please power down your engines and come to a stop, and you must be investigated, by law."

"Damn it…" Gavin groaned as he shook his head, his right hand rubbing his eyes. "Wonderful."

"Again, I ask that you power down your engines and come to a stop. You are violating Vuluan Temporary Law No. 0064. Please power down your engines, or we'll board by force." The voice echoed out over the clouds again.

"What's going on Gavin?" Lia asked as she poked her head up the ladder. "What's wrong with Chelle?"

"Not today." Gavin muttered to himself as he suddenly gave full power to the engines, and made a sharp, banking turn to the port side.

Everyone on board, save Gavin, was thrown aside and off balance. Maxwell barely managed to stay on his feet, and immediately questioned Gavin's motives for denying the patrol ship. Gavin simply ignored him though. He even managed to ignore Lia's cry of shock when she nearly fell off the ladder, and was kind of glad that nobody was on the deck at that time. He had to save his mother and sister – by any means necessary. He wasn't going to stop until they were safe, no matter how many laws he had to break.

Gavin's ship zipped through North Ocean. Due to its small size it easily ripped through the cloud, and due to the weight of everything on board, the ship barely had any trouble turning on the spot. Still, the Vuluan patrol ship was in pursuit. The patrol ship was rather small as well, and went at a decent speed. Still, it was long, and as a result, it was forced to make wider turns. It was light, so the wind kept its abilities less than what it could have been. The ship was made entirely out of metal, save for the windows. It had two large cannons mounted on the deck, which were the main cannons. Thanks to their design, they could turn in a full three hundred and sixty degrees, making them able to fire in any direction. Five sub-cannons were mounted on either side of the ship's hull, dealing less damage and not being able to fie in front of behind the ship. It was given that at that day in age, every Vuluan ship, battleship to patrol ship, was equipped with an apparatus which allowed them to fire magically enchanted cannon balls.

Even if Gavin was not a skilled captain when it came to battling, but he excelled in common sense. He knew quite well that if he stayed in front of the patrol ship, he could avoid damage from the sub-cannons. It would have taken quite a bit of work to stay in front of the ship and still get to the small island that he was told to go to. Not only that, but he was putting younger people in danger. His mind was a mental war of right and wrong, and logic could not agree with passion. In the end, passion got the better of him and he continued to flee from the patrols, violating a direct and strict law.

"Alright everyone!" Gavin called back. "Make with evasive parameters! Make sure nothing gets broken, and repair the ship as necessary, we're gonna out-run these chumps!"

"Gavin, are you sure this is all right?" Maxwell asked.

"Does an Air Pirate have any regard for the law?" Gavin asked.

"Not really." Maxwell answered. "But we don't go out of our way to break laws."

"Well, from this day forward, I suppose I'm an Air Pirate!" Gavin smirked. "So to hell with their 'laws' and their 'standards!' I couldn't care less right now."

"The guy's gone nuts!" Taylor proclaimed, below deck, trying to keep all the treasure in the lifeboat bay in place.

"What the heck is going on, Gavin?" Chelle asked herself, trying to keep everything in Gavin's room from falling all over the place. "This isn't like you!"

Gavin's ship flew all about, in zigzag patterns, and sharp, unexpected turns. The patrol ship did its best to keep up, its main cannons firing at the ship. Occasionally, a cannonball would glance off the ship, or barely knick it, making it obvious that Gavin's ship was simply too fast for the cannons to hit directly. This made for a decent advantage. But half way to his destination, he came across a second patrol ship. Of course, it assisted the other ship, trying to take him down. Gavin's golden ship was under attack from a barrage of cannons that were rather hard to avoid. Gavin cursed his luck, trying to put more power to the engines, even though they were at maximum output. One cannonball was lucky enough to hit behind him, right where his engine was located. The entire ship was rocked, and many things became disorganized.

"What the hell just happened!" Gavin shouted into the voice-tube.

"They hit the engine!" Lia's voice came back from the tube. "I can't fix it!"

"Max!" Gavin called back.

"I can fix it." Maxwell nodded.

"Get going then!" Gavin responded. "Fix it pronto, we're almost there!"

Magic was a strange thing in Arcadia. Long ago, far before Maxwell's time, far before Vyse The Legend's time, people believed that magic was derived straight from the six Moons that surrounded Arcadia. Each Moon was like a separate God, prayed to, worshipped, and questioned. Every Moon had its own colour and its own blessings. Magic was simply a concentrated form of these blessings, only usable by those who could concentrate and clear their minds to receive the blessings and use them accordingly. Maxwell was just one such person, and had found himself bound naturally to the Green Moon. That specific Moon was said to hold the power of nature and healing. Strangely enough, magic could be used as well on ships as it could on other living things. Healing magic could repair the metal, taking whatever damage the metal received, and somehow reversing it. Nobody could explain why this was, very few tried. Nobody complained either, though.

Maxwell rushed to the ladder, hopping onto it, hands and feet at either side. He let himself slide down, and then hopped off the bottom, quickly heading to the engine room. He burst in quickly, met with a rush of heat. It was quite a sight, the engine barely working, a cannonball stuck into the floor. It looked as if the large round ball of metal was shot on an angle, so that it lobbed. It was the only explanation as to why it hadn't tore right through the engine. It had crashed through the wood, smacking into the engine, rattling it up and damaging it. It was working at merely half output. It was fuming, the heat put into it escaping the bent, damaged metal gears and pistons. It made the room hot enough to be considered a sauna. The energy was being wasted into the surrounding air, and at that rate, the ship would have lost power. Maxwell quickly went to work.

He ran out of the engine room, grabbing a small, spare tarp from a pile of supplies in the below-deck hallway. He then hurried to Gavin's room, ignoring the frantic Chelle as he acquired a hammer and iron spikes. He hurried back to the room, finding the hole left by the cannonball. It was several inches around, heated air rushing out of the ship through the gaping hole. Maxwell quickly set the tarp against the hole, which was partly sucked out into the open sky. Keeping firm footing, he quickly began to hammer one of the iron spikes into the corner of the tarp. It hammered in easily, and stayed firmly in the wood. He did the same thing for each corner, soon making it so that the air could barely get out. It was a cheap fix, but it would have sufficed. Next came the engine.

The metal of the engine was dented, and one of the pistons was cracked, created a large output of hot air. Maxwell wiped sweat from his forehead with a little sigh before he stood next to the engine. He raised one hand before his face, vertically, and closed his eyes. With a little concentration, a magic circle appeared on the ground. This circle was of a unique design, etched into the area around him using magical energy. A breeze created by the force of the magic around him caused Maxwell's clothes to flutter about, which was common with most magi-users.

"Moons, give me strength." Maxwell said, praying with all his soul to the Moons.

The Green Moon must have heard the plight. It was rather generous, as all Moons were, offering their powers to those adept of using them. Several citizens of Arcadia had magical capacity. With his eyes still closed, Maxwell reached out, placing his hand against the engine. Instead of burning, his hand glowed with a faint green light. This light caught to the engine, making it's continuously moving form glow. Sparkles of light seemed to drip from it, fluttering to the ground like snowflakes or small bits of paper. The metal began to construct itself back into its original form. At this point, the magic circle disappeared, and Maxwell was able to watch the results. The metal changed, slightly, and the piston's crack moulded together. The dents pushed outwards a little, the metal moving back to its original shape. When the glow faded, the engine was fairly fixed up. It still had a slight dent in it, but nothing that would flaw its affectivity. The piston's crack was naught but a small knick in the metal. The heat stopped flowing, but Maxwell was still sweating quite a bit.

"Ah-ha! You fixed it!" Gavin's voice came through one of the voice-tubes, located at the corner of the room.

"Yeah, all done!" Maxwell called back.

"Good, now get up here. I thin I see the island." Gavin said.

"Yeah?" Maxwell wanted to clarify.

"It's opening right up for us!" Gavin chuckled. "No sense giving up the opportunity."

"Opening up?" Maxwell pondered the use of words

Gavin wasn't exaggerating. Maxwell moved back to the bridge, and looked out into the sky to see a large chunk of land that seemed to have broken off from the Vulua continent. A small section in it, large enough for an airship, had come out a little from the rock, and had opened, like a giant hangar door. It was obvious that it was a docking bay, hidden in the rocks. It was in the crevasse, between the chunk of land and Vulua, the area large enough for ships to pass through. After a slight bit of observing, Gavin realized that no ships were coming out – he was being invited in. He took the opportunity, hurrying towards the dock. His airship had a rocky, hasty landing. It scrapped against the rock a little as he made his turn into the hangar, and he had little time to stop, so of course, the ship had to come to nearly a sudden halt. This knocked poor Taylor right off balance. When all was said and done, the ship was docked, and the hangar doors were securely closed.

"Well, they won't find me here." Gavin sighed. "Stupid Vuluan patrols don't know their heads from a hole in the floor."

"Ugh…" Maxwell stood up, rubbing his head. "Rough landing or what?"

"Maxwell, my family's involved in this." Gavin responded. "A few little scratches and bumps are worth it. Now, lets get the others and hurry up and get out there! Mother and Nola must be worried sick."

Gavin and the others slowly disembarked from the ship. In his hand, Gavin held the mysterious cube that he had found in the pyramid in the desert. Though, he was rather interested in the area around him. It seemed very industrial, as what Vulua was famous for. The hangar looked something like a cargo depot. Crates were stacked high, filled with all sorts of things, and tarps were draped over them. They walked on a grated kind of catwalk, the whole floor suspended above the actual ground where the mechanics controlling the door rested. Pistons, gears, and fans… so many mechanical devices were in one place. The hangar was anything but cozy. The air was somewhat cold. They were at the lowest altitude Gavin's ship could manage, the air down below seeming rather cold, out of the sunlight. They stepped into the center of the room, looking about.

"Would you look at this." Lia said. "I've never seen machines like this."

"Vulua is famous for its technological advances." Gavin said. "Even though this isn't part of the Vuluan continent, it's still close enough to be effected by the advances. Vulua's Armada is the most impressive of it all, though."

"I've heard of it." Chelle said, crossing her arms. "It's supposed to be the most powerful of all time."

"And even they'll bow down to us soon enough."

… That was the last thing they heard before they woke up quite a while later in a cold, dark cell.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ugh… What the heck…?" Gavin slowly stirred awake, lying on a cold, steel floor, on his stomach. "Where are we?"

"Oh man… my head…" Maxwell sat up, rubbing his head. "Are we in some sort of cell…?"

Maxwell and Gavin found themselves to be the only ones conscious. The rest were passed out on the floor of a cold room, where the floor and walls were made of steel, and the roof made of stone. There wasn't any window, and simply one light, which flickered on and off. It was over-all, a very uncomfortable situation. Gavin and Maxwell moved to each of their still unconscious comrades, and woke them up. Each of their heads or necks was pounding. It was obvious that they were knocked out and thrown into this cell by the very people that called them there.

"Perfect." Chelle grumbled. "First Gavin acts like a nut, and then this. Simply perfect."

"A nut?" Gavin shot at her. "Well I'm sorry, but my family was in jeopardy!"

"That's no reason to go and possibly get all of Nasr into trouble with Vulua!" Chelle shot back.

"You don't get it!" Gavin responded.

"No, you don't get it!" Chelle shouted back.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Taylor yelled. "My head's pounding! Shut up!"

"I'm sorry…" Gavin sighed. "It's just… with Nola and my mother, I have a responsibility. I'm the man of the house, you could say… My father's been dead for years, they have nobody else to look out for them..."

Chelle couldn't respond.

"… I suppose you ought to know, my father died in a terrible accident." Gavin said. "I saw it with my own eyes, a Moonstone fell from the sky… Nailed em'. What were the odds? He was crushed, right in front of our home. Of course, the Nasultan was more concerned for the Moonstone, to use for fuel."

"Oh… Gavin, I'm sorry." Lia said, sitting on her knees on the floor.

"Save it, there's nothing that could've been done." Gavin responded sternly. "That's why now, when I go out and search for this treasure… I make sure they get some of the money that it sells for, so they can live. My mother doesn't own a suitable business, or have a job… and Nola couldn't possibly keep one for a week, so they rely on me."

"Well… All that could sell for thousands." Maxwell said.

"Yeah, how come they aren't rich?" Taylor added.

"My mother's too modest, she wouldn't accept any more than what she needed." Gavin responded. "But, the fact is, without my father around, I took responsibility for them. I couldn't let anything happen to them… But this happened so fast. I kind of lost all my rational thought, and went a little crazy."

"Yeah, at least you noticed that much." Taylor said.

"Now look where we are." Gavin said, standing up and walking aimlessly about the room. "We're in a cold cell, with headaches the size of North Ocean. I suppose all I can say is… Well… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Gavin." Chelle spoke up, leaning against the wall now. "I never knew that much about your family. I guess I never bothered to ask. It's alright if you went a little nuts, we can forgive you."

"Yeah…" Gavin nodded. "But still, look what happened."

"Ah, there's only one thing to do then!" Maxwell proclaimed as he stood up and walked to the door, resting his hands on it and feeling it as he put his ear to it.

"What's that?" Taylor asked.

"I think I know what." Lia grinned. "We bust outta here, right?"

"Naturally." Maxwell looked back with a chuckle. "Air Pirates need to know how to get out of these kinds of situations. We'll bust out of here, find Nola and Serene, get our cube back, and get out of here."

"Of course, we'll be kicking butt on the way, right?" Lia asked.

"That's a given." Gavin answered.

"And we'll leave with a bang?" Chelle chimed in.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Maxwell chuckled.

"Well then, get out of the way, Max. I've got our key to freedom." Chelle said.

Maxwell stepped out of the way and Chelle moved over to the door. Taking off her tri-corner hat and reached under her bandana. In a moment, she pulled out a hairpin. Everyone's face lit up as she straightened it out and began to pick the lock on the large, metal door. The lock made some light clicking noises before a loud click sounded the unlocking of the door. Chelle was about to open it, but Gavin pulled her aside. She was confused but when the door began to open on its own, she understood what was going on. A guard opened the door to see if it had unlocked. She had only opened it a bit before Maxwell and Lia grabbed the door and hauled it open. The guard tripped in. She was wearing a black spandex suit that fit her like a second skin, and steel grieves that went to her knees. She wore a modified breastplate that covered her front and back, leaving her stomach, shoulders, and lower back bare. Her hair was short enough to be hidden in the helmet she wore, which had a full-face visor that hid her facial features, as it was tinted. Gavin grabbed her in a hurry and forced her to the floor, climbing on top of her to pin her down.

"You know, I've always like a girl in spandex." Gavin grinned before hitting her in the back of the head, knocking her out.

Gavin left with the group then, coming into a slightly larger, empty room, with their weapons on a lone table at the right side of the room. Other than that, there was only an elevator on the apposing side of the cubical-spaced area. It seemed that whomever was keeping them hostage wasn't planning on any other visitors. Excited, they called the elevator, and waited. There they stood, quietly, as the small dial over the elevator doors turned, indicating what floor it was on. There were several floors, counting seven in all. Taylor yawned a big, fake yawn. Waiting for the elevator certainly wasn't exciting. It wasn't until it came to the floor just before where they stood that Lia came across a thought. If the elevator was the only elevator going to every floor, it certainly must have meant something. When the elevator got to the bottom floor, they were relieved. But when it opened to reveal three guards dressed in black spandex with steel grieves and breastplates, they were startled. With little time to react, both the Air Pirates and the guards struggled to take out their weapons.

Maxwell and Gavin, who were in the front of the group, stumbled back. In turn, this made Lia and Chelle stumble and trip backwards, pushing poor Taylor back. The guards fumbled and accidentally hit one another taking out their weapons, still standing in the elevator. They forced their way out, standing at Gavin and Maxwell's legs. Gavin and Maxwell hurried back to stand up, and the guards pushed in. At this point, the elevator closed, and there was barely enough room in the tiny space to even breathe. The group squirmed about, pressed tightly against one another. They tried to raise their weapons, but couldn't move their arms. There were lots of pushing, and grunts of frustration and annoyance at the lack of movement. Soon, Gavin shouted up above everyone.

"Hey, settle down!" He shouted. "Let's sort this out like civilized people!"

"You're prisoners!" One of the guards responded. "We don't have to sort anything out with dogs like you!"

"Well, the next batch to come down here looking for you two won't even be able to get out of the elevator." Gavin grunted. "So why don't you two turn around and call it, and give us all some room!"

"I can't breathe!" Taylor wailed.

"That's my foot!" Chelle shouted out.

"Alright, alright!" One of the guards said, struggling to turn around. "Settle down, all of you!"

The guard turned around to call the elevator, which was when Gavin swiftly knocked both of them out. Their unconscious bodies took up less room in the tiny room; it was the only real alternative. Gavin let the two guards fall to the floor, and waited for the elevator, having a good laugh over what had happened. When the elevator arrived, they all piled in, again being squished together. This posed for various uncomfortable touching and breathing in one another's faces, making it an over-all bad experience. But they only went one floor up before the elevator opened and they all tumbled out again. Getting up, they appeared to be in a narrow corridor, with several doors on either side. It was then that it became apparent that it was best that they figured out where they were, and how to get out, to avoid such situations ever again.

Keeping Taylor in the back, they searched each room. It seemed that each room was responsible for some kind of power. Each was guarded, but the guards proved little work for the Air Pirates. One room held power to the corridors and storerooms; another contained the main power generator for the facility, and another controlled simply the heat. Some were only storerooms. None seemed overly useful. The storerooms contained simple items, such as Curia and Sacares Crystals, and Magic Drops, which Maxwell helped himself to. There was no reason just to leave perfectly good items such as those behind. They were useful medicines, after all. It wasn't until turning to leave one of the storerooms that they found something useful.

A map was hanging beside the door, taped securely to the wall with a strong kind of gray tape. Chelle ripped it off the wall and looked at it. Each floor was briefly laid-out on the map. The bottom floor, the seventh, was called "the tiny room." Above it was the power control/storerooms. The fifth floor was prisoner cells, and fourth was the mess hall. Third was the hangar, and second was the soldier barracks. Lastly, first was the meeting room. The group studied the map, and decided their checkpoints. They needed to find Serene and Nola, and then find the cube, thereafter they would escape on Gavin's ship. The plan seemed simple enough.

"So we rescue Serene and Nola…" Lia recapped.

"Then find our cube." Maxwell added.

"And then we escape on the Moneymaker." Gavin finished.

"The what?" Lia blinked at Gavin.

"The Moneymaker." Gavin said. "Didn't I ever tell you? That's the name of my ship."

"No… No you didn't." Maxwell answered.

"Ah, well…" Gavin shrugged. "Let's go then."

The group left the small room then, heading down the hall and back to the elevator. With reluctant sighs, they all piled in once again. Body-to-body, they went up to the floor above them, the fifth floor - the prisoner cells. When the elevator door opened, they fell out, landing on one another with poor Taylor on the bottom of the pile. The guards stationed in the cellblocks would have to have been blind and deaf not to be aware of the Air Pirates' presence. There were three; all dressed the same, in black jumpsuits with red stripes down their sides, a heavy steel breastplate, and a steel helmet that hid their faces. The Air Pirates got up in a hurry, actually able to fight this time, drawing their weapons. Taylor was pushed aside then as the three guards – two male, one female – rushed in to attack them.

Chelle was quick to draw her pistol. It was a very drag looking gun, simple yet effective. The flints she used were made of red Moonstone. She had several, since they were so small and made with very little of the material. Due to the red Moonstone's fire element, the flints were able to pierce through the steel of the guard's armor. She aimed carefully, and fired at the one female guard, who was holding a small spear-like weapon. The bullet whistled through the air and pierced through the guard's armor, hitting her shoulder. This made her lose balance and fall back to one knee, while the other two guards kept running straight ahead. Gavin and Maxwell were ready for them, and simultaneously clashed swords with the male guards, stopping them in their tracks. Gavin easily threw the one aside and a little off balance and Maxwell had to kick the other back before trying to attack again. The attack was blocked once again though, while Gavin managed to cut the other across their side. They grunted in pain, backing off, and the female guard was back up, running at Gavin. She took a swipe, but Gavin was able to step aside just in time to only have a light gash across his shoulder as a result.

Chelle reloaded her pistol quickly, and from between Gavin and Maxwell, a little behind them; she shot at the female guard again. This time, she was hit in the leg, and fell to the floor. She dropped her weapon, sitting up quickly to move aside and out of the fray. The other male guard rushed Gavin again, but this time Gavin simply kneed him in the gut, making him coil in pain, and then slammed the hilt of his sword against the guard's neck, knocking him out. The final guard was frightened, and burst into a frantic run past the group. Lia, who was protecting Taylor, was quick to act, lashing out her whip. It wrapped around the guard's ankle and tripped him. He simply lay there after that. Whether he was unconscious or just simply gave up was unknown to the Air Pirates. With relieved and cocky grins, they put their weapons away and walked along the cells. There weren't many, only three on either side of the hall. It was only when they reached the last two that they saw Gavin's family.

"Gavin!" Serene called out.

"Mom! Nola!" Gavin responded by moving up to the bars and grabbing them, but he felt a sudden electric shock make his body jump, and he let go of the bars in a hurry.

"What the hell?" He blinked.

"Looks like there's electricity running through the bars." Serene said.

"Get us outta here!" Nola shouted.

"Shhh!" Gavin hushed them. "We'll get you out… If it's electricity, it must be powered…"

"And we passed the power maintenance room." Chelle said.

"So all we have to do is turn it off!" Lia ended the idea with an enthusiastic observation.

"Yeah but there must be another station." Gavin pointed out. "They'll notice if the power goes out, and it'll come back on in a hurry if they have a back-up supply. Someone should stay here, so when we cut the power they can get Mom and Nola out quick. Then, they'll get back to the Moneymaker, and the rest of us will meet them there once we get the cube."

"Sounds like a plan." Maxwell said.

"Chelle, you and the kid stay here." Gavin said, looking to Chelle. "I can rely on you, and we can keep the kid out of trouble if he stays with you and gets to the ship."

"You can count on me, Gavin." Chelle winked. "I'm the most reliable woman in the world! I always keep my word."

"Always…?" Gavin raised an eyebrow with a grin.

"Don't push your luck." Chelle stuck her tongue out, hands on her hips.

"There's the Gavin we know." Maxwell grinned.

"Oh brother." Lia shook her head, crossing her arms.

With that, Chelle and Taylor stayed behind as Maxwell, Lia and Gavin ran off towards the elevator. It was much simpler with just three people, all filing into the elevator in an orderly fashion, and going back down to the previous floor. It was a simple task, going back to the power station, but it wasn't so easy figuring out how to work the various knobs and buttons. Gavin, being the most knowledgeable, tried his hardest to work the apparatus, but even he found it rather difficult. In order to work the thing, it was obvious to him that someone would have to be trained specifically to do so. It was all rather frustrating. After a short while, Maxwell told Gavin to move aside. He then stepped up, drew his sword, and cut through the control panel in one clean swipe. The controls spit electricity in several directions until power ceased to run to the machine, in turn causing the entire base to shut down. With a slight cheer, they turned to go to the elevator again. It was out, so they waited.

Chelle did the same, waiting for the power to come back on so she could harbor Gavin's family, and Taylor, back to the ship. It only took a short while until the power came back on, allowing Chelle to call the elevator. Gavin had done the same, and they both waited. It came to Chelle first, allowing her, Taylor, Serene, and Nola to get inside and travel down to the hangar. It stopped at Gavin's floor, but nobody got in – the damn thing was too crowded. Chelle stuck her tongue out at Gavin as the doors closed and the elevator resumed its trip to the hangar. When it came back to Gavin, it was empty again. He, Maxwell and Lia filed in and looked at the buttons, trying to decide what floor to go to. Considering that nothing was found in the storeroom, Maxwell pushed the button to go to the upper-most floor, the meeting room. It seemed like the wisest alternative, seeing as the other was the barracks.

When the doors opened, it revealed quite a large room. The room had four pillars, possibly two feet from each corner, made of white marble. Though, the walls were simply brown, old rock that was obviously dug out in the shape of the room. The floor was covered completely in what looked to be a red carpet, lined with gold thread several inches from the perimeter. In the center of the room, there was a large table, rectangular in shape. Only a few chars lined both sides and the head of the table. Across from the head of the table, nearest to the Air Pirates, was Lawrence. His back was turned to them, and he seemed to be looking at something he held within his hand.

"Lawrence!" Maxwell shouted, taking a step into the room.

"So you made it out of your little room, hm?" Lawrence's cold voice came back, speaking awkwardly calmly, if not a little annoyed. "That explains the brief power failure… I'll guess that you freed the prisoners too."

"Yeah, we did." Maxwell answered when Lawrence turned around.

"And now you want this." Lawrence held up the small cube that they had found in the pyramid back in Nasr. "You don't even know what this is, do you?"

"Not really." Maxwell answered. Gavin and Lia looked equally as questionable on it. "Don't you?"

"Not at all." Lawrence said. "But my employer wants this part and the others. He paid me, so I have to get them."

"Other parts?" Maxwell asked.

"…" Lawrence didn't respond. He had said enough as it was.

"What other parts?" Lia chimed in. "What do you know?"

"Give it up." Gavin shook his head. "Lawrence is a mercenary. He doesn't ask why he has to do anything, or tell anyone what he's doing. He already screwed up."

"It's no big deal." Lawrence said as he placed the cube carefully onto the table. He then reached to his scabbard, drawing his short sword. "I'll dispose of you myself."

"Bring it on!" Gavin shouted, drawing his own sword from its sheathe on his back. "You're going to pay for laying a hand on my family!"

Gavin ran at Lawrence without any hesitation, or any rational thought. Lawrence didn't get worked up over this. He was calm, confident – he knew exactly what he was doing. Gavin slashed at him, swinging his sword with wild abandon. In contrast, Lawrence calmly stepped aside, avoiding the blow swiftly, allowing Gavin's blade to be caught in the thick, fine-wood table. Maxwell ran in to help Gavin, while Lia did her share from a distance, lashing her whip out at the mercenary. Quickly judging the speeds of these attacks, Lawrence lifted his arm. Lia's whip was caught and coiled around Lawrence's hand, allowing him to grasp it firmly, keeping the young Air Pirate from pulling it back. Maxwell took this as a two-sided advantage, slashing his sword towards Lawrence. But, again, Lawrence raised his sword in one hand as a parry, catching the attack on his blade. In a quick series of movements, he then pulled Lia's whip towards him forcefully, bringing the tightly gripping girl off balance and to the floor, and then he stepped forwards, driving a hard kick into Maxwell's gut. The air was driven from the young man's diaphragm, making him collapse onto the floor with gasping breaths.

Gavin forcefully tugged his sword from the ground, and Lia rose back to her feet, giving an unexpected tug on her whip. Lawrence was nearly brought off-balance, though quickly recovered and jerked his arm back, nearly bringing Lia off-balance instead. He did this just as Gavin rushed at him, hopping over Maxwell and slashing at Lawrence. The combined movements resulted in Gavin's blade cutting through Lia's whip. The reduction of tension in the whip caused Lia to fall forwards again, and it gave Lawrence's arm freedom of movement once again. Taking the unexpected advantage, he threw a quick kick to Gavin's defenseless side, sending him falling onto Lia, who was also defenseless on the ground. Maxwell was up again at this point, but when he went to engage Lawrence in another exchange of attacks, Lawrence simply avoided the attack again, grabbing Maxwell's sword arm and bashing it in the elbow with the hilt of his small sword. Maxwell shouted out in pain before Lawrence spun him around once, taking his feet off the floor in the movement, and throwing him on top of his friends. Maxwell, Gavin and Lia were piled on the floor, trying to get off one another.

"You're crushing me!" Lia whined at the bottom of the pile.

"Jeez, what's with this guy?" Gavin grunted, getting up quickly. Maxwell fell off Gavin's back and onto the ground.

"Are you done yet? That was barely a warm up." Lawrence said in his usual cold tone of voice.

"Not a chance." Maxwell shot back as he and Lia stood up again.

"You don't have a chance." Lawrence retorted. "Get out of my sight."

Lawrence readied his sword and ran full-force at Maxwell. Gavin and Lia were quick to act, stepping forwards and dropping down to the floor. Then with their legs, they caught both of Lawrence's, making the mercenary trip. As Lawrence fell forwards, Maxwell backed up a step, jumping over him as he crashed onto the ground. Gavin and Lia both hastily got up, standing on either side of Maxwell. Lawrence got up in a hurry, turning to face the Air Pirates once again. With his free hand, he wiped his thumb across his nose to check for bleeding, glancing coldly at the three.

"You're all more organized than I thought." Lawrence stated. "But that'll get you nowhere."

"Hey! I'm here!" A voice, muffled by the steel elevator doors, rang out.

Suddenly, the elevator doors sprung open, and two men in ragged clothing ran out. Without stopping they ran over the perplexed Lawrence, pushing him to the ground and stepping all over him. They stood at either side of the door as a familiar person stepped out from the elevator. He walked in a confident stride, with a big, dopey grin, broad shoulders, and firm chest, dressed like a Black Pirate… And Lia gained a disgusted sort of expression. It was the same Black Pirate that she and Maxwell had encountered a few days before. He was oblivious to what was happening as he marched in. Gavin took this as a good opportunity to grab the cube while nobody was looking.

"You guys HAVE to do something about that elevator! Man, it's crowded!" Vigoro proclaimed as he strutted on through. He didn't even notice what was going on until he stepped on Lawrence again. He looked at the mercenary, then at the Air Pirates, and did a double take before he even asked.

"What's going on here!"

As if they were all thinking alike, the three Air Pirates burst forth, leaving Vigoro and his crew utterly confused. They trampled over Lawrence once more, and Vigoro, to get to the elevator. Piling in, they pushed the hangar floor button over and over to try and get the doors to close faster. Before Vigoro or Lawrence could do anything, the steel doors closed, and the Air Pirates were gone.

"What's going on?" Vigoro asked in his burly voice as he sat up.

"Ugh…" Lawrence slowly stood up, brushing himself off and picking his sword up.

"Wh-What! You! You're here!" Vigoro was startled by Lawrence, and sprang to his feet. "C'mon, don't hurt me again!"

"Shut up you idiot!" Lawrence shot at him. "Just get those three!"

It would do them no good. The base wasn't very organized. Before Vigoro could do anything, the elevator was at the hangar. Chelle had seen Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin as they hurried out towards the Moneymaker. She frantically got the ship started, and since the docks in the hangar were elevated to the ship's deck-level, Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin were able to jump on and immediately head for the bridge. Working quickly, Gavin hurried to the wheel, putting the ship in full reverse. By the time Vigoro got down to the hangar, the Moneymaker was already a spec in the distance. Though, the Black Pirate didn't tread any water about it, he was far too confused to know what a loss their escape could have been.

When they were a safe distance away, they all let out a sigh of relief. Serene and Nola smiled brightly, overjoyed as they hurried to give their thanks. Hearing this, Gavin turned around and held his arms out. His mother met him first with a tight hug, which he returned happily, closing his eyes. After a few short moments, he opened his eyes again. Still hugging his mother, he wondered just where his sister went. Wasn't she going to thank him too? He looked around, his gaze sweeping the bridge before he caught sight of her. She was showing Maxwell mad affection, which the young male Air Pirate was trying to get out of.

"Thank you Gavin, thank you so much." Serene said in a calm, relieved manner.

"I knew you'd come!" Nola cried out happily as she kept Maxwell locked in her arms, nuzzling into his chest. "I knew you'd rescue me, Max!"

"Max!" Gavin nearly dropped his mother. "Max didn't do a thing! It was **my** idea!"

"You're my knight in shining armor…" Nola said dreamily as she gazed into Maxwell's eyes.

"I… can't breathe…!" Maxwell groaned breathlessly as he tried to squirm out of Nola's grasp.

"Listen to me, you little twerp!" Gavin shouted at Nola.

"Cut it out you little cling-on." Lia glared at Nola, walking over to her and prying her from Maxwell. "You're going to make me sick!"

"I think I'm sick already." Taylor immaturely joked as he faked a gag.

"I think it's pretty cute." Chelle giggled. "They make a good couple!"

"Eh?" Maxwell looked bewildered towards Chelle. "Don't say stuff like that!"

"Aw cheer up." Chelle winked, planting her hands firmly upon her hips. "You should be happy we're out of there, and we got Gavin's family back!"

"Yeah." Gavin nodded. "We're home-free for now. I suppose all I can say is thanks to all of you, for putting up with all that crap I pulled."

"Speaking of the crap you pulled…" Chelle said. "… A Nasr ship in Vulua airspace?"

"What?" Serene was shocked, turning to Gavin. "Gavin, we must leave immediately."

"Yeah, we've got our cube thing." Lia said. "Get going!"

"Yeah, I'm going!" Gavin turned back to the wheel, but suddenly, a loud thud was heard on deck, making everyone pause.

"Oh, what now?" Maxwell asked. "What else could possibly go wrong?"

"I think we'd better check it out." Gavin said as he powered down the engines. "Mom, Nola, stay here."

"Don't worry about us." Serene and Nola responded in unison.

"Right… Just stay here, okay?" Gavin rolled his eyes and quickly hurried out to the deck with Maxwell, Lia, and Chelle.

Hurrying out onto the deck, Maxwell came to a sudden stop, causing the rest to stop as well. There, standing on the deck, arms crossed, was the very same man he had helped in his hometown, and they very same man who helped them in the desert. It was the man with the long silver hair, wearing the same green, long-backed vest, the same black pants, the same gold plated boots, the same silver chain necklace, and the same silver katars that he always seemed to have. He stared with a cold, raw emotion at Maxwell, his left eye not visible past his bangs, which had grown over it. The man uncrossed his arms, a large scar revealed on his bare, pale chest.

"I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you." The man said. "I demand you give it to me, immediately."

"What…? Who are…?" Maxwell tried to find a question to ask in the surprise situation.

"If you won't give it to me…" The man said, readying his katars in a combative stance. "… I will take it by force."


End file.
